Allah Is Not Obliged
North American Premiere
Allah n’est pas obligé
Schedule
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Run Time: 77 minutes
Followed by a Q&A with producer Sébastien Onomo moderated by Kazembe Balagun.
Dir. Zaven Najjar, 2025, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, Saudi Arabia, 77min, DCP
In French with English subtitles
Voiced by Thomas Ngijol, Marc Zinga, Chris Aboubacar Hanta Traoré
This adaptation of author Ahmadou Kourouma’s celebrated novel Allah is Not Obliged is a bittersweet elegy to a childhood shattered by war. It follows 10-year-old Guinean orphan Birahima, who recounts, with the help of four dictionaries and a heaping dose of irony, how he became a child soldier when he tried to join his aunt in Liberia. In his first feature, presented as a work in progress at Animation First 2024, illustrator and director Zaven Najjar (The Siren), creates a visually arresting account of innocence and survival in the midst of tragic violence.
In Competition: 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival
This program will be preceded by a 25-second bumper film created by École MoPA students.
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Venue
Event Pricing
Children under seventeen (17) years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times and may not attend events unattended.
Kazembe Balagun
Kazembe Balagun is a cultural organizer and educator whose work connects history, social movements, and the arts. He has helped shape institutions such as the Brecht Forum and the Maysles Documentary Center, where he has developed public programs centered on collective leadership, historical memory, and community dialogue.
Image Credit: Allah is Not Obliged © Special Touch Studios, Creative Touch Studios, Paul Thiltges Distribution, Need Production, Lunamine, Yzanakio
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