Allah n'est pas obligé

Whilst searching for his aunt, ten-year-old Birahima becomes embroiled as a child soldier in the civil wars of Liberia and Sierra Leone. A film adaptation told with unsentimental empathy and a keen sense of the power of words.

With pointed wit, unwavering candour and a narrative voice that oscillates between innocent curiosity and bitter realisation, Birahima recounts stories about the people he encountered and the atrocities he experienced. The result is a haunting war drama that depicts the horrors of conflict without robbing its protagonist of his dignity or voice.

With “Allah n’est pas oblige”, Zaven Najjar has adapted the multi-award-winning novel by the Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma, one of the major figures in French-African literature. Kourouma, often regarded as the “African Voltaire”, was a fierce critic of colonialism, dictatorships and the consequences of armed conflicts. In Najjar’s powerful 2D animation, the brutality of war is coupled with a poetic visual language.

The film celebrated its European premiere at the Annecy International Animation Festival in 2025, bringing a modern classic of African literature to the screen for a new audience. (Xenia Nguyen)