Burkina Faso's Recreatrales Festival is one of the most important theater events in Africa. Over the years, it has increasingly been used to address tragedies people suffer. This year it has brought together people internally displaced in Burkina Faso.
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00:00This is the Leyre Kriyatrale festival in Burkina Faso, featuring 50 people displaced by conflict
00:10and terror attacks in the regions of Kaya and Tenka Dogo.
00:19They're retelling their stories through theatre.
00:37The terrorists came to our village to kill the men, take away the cattle and give the
00:42women three days to leave the village.
00:47There's a lot of pain because a lot of other people were killed.
00:58The director says such theatricals are not intended to re-traumatize people, but rather
01:03to help them heal from the pain.
01:09The aim wasn't necessarily to harvest suffering and heartbreak.
01:16The aim was precisely to use art to transcend all that, to celebrate life instead, to summon
01:23the return of joy, the return of desire, the thirst for beauty and social ties.
01:35Many participants say the project does help them.
01:38It provides a way to put their horrible experiences into words, without speaking.
01:47Often I feel sad.
01:49I sit immersed in dark memories.
01:53But with the theatre group, I forget everything.
01:58When I'm there, my problems disappear.
02:02I feel dizzy at times, but I get back into the game and find myself feeling free again.
02:19The show, choreographed by Gibril Vatara, is a combination of dance, song and theatre.
02:24For Vatara and other organizers, it has transformed the way they see their work.
02:30Before I got the call from Les Recréatrales to come and work on this project, there was
02:34a time when I wondered about it, given everything the country was going through.
02:40Me as an artist, does my art serve a purpose?
02:44And it's in my moments of doubt.
02:53The first day I set foot in Caille, I realized that the work I was doing was important and
02:58necessary.
03:02But above all, I learned from these people, and I learned that life never stops.
03:08Despite everything, there are people who, for me, have a lot to teach us about how to
03:12get back on our feet, how to stay on our feet, how to remain dignified despite everything.
03:18Les Recréatrales is still open till November 2nd, and open to anyone who wants to celebrate
03:25Africa's rich culture in theatre.