the Victims of the Hissein Habré Regime) of victims of Habré about their arrests and tortures by the secret police. In 2017 Haroun made his second feature film set in France, A Season in France. This film is about Abbas, a French teacher in the Central African Republic who fled with his family during the civil war. The memory of his wife who was killed during their journey still haunts him. When he returns to France, he falls in love with Carole, a woman who helps him and his two sons. Unable to obtain refugee status, Abbas and his brother are given a notice of deportation and a hard choice to make. In Haroun's 2020 film Lingui, he returns to Chad, focusing on the problems faced by thirty year old Amina and her daughter Maria who is half her age. When Amina, a practicing Muslim, realizes that her daughter is pregnant and that she wants to have an abortion, the mother and daughter are confronted by the fact that abortion is both illegal and “immoral” in Chad. Political career Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was Minister of Tourism, Culture and Crafts of Chad from February 5, 2017, to February 8, 2018. Novel Haroun's first novel, “Djibril ou les Ombres portées”, was published in 2017 by Gallimard. Filmography Shorts Maral Tanie (1994) Goi-Goi (1995) B 400 (1997) Letter from New York City (2001) Feature films Bye Bye Africa (1999) Abouna (2002) Daratt (2006) Sex, Okra and Salted Butter (2008) A Screaming Man (2010) GriGris (2013) A Season in France (2017) Lingui, The Sacred Bonds (2021) Documentaries Bord' Africa (1995) Sotigui Kouyate, a modern griot (1997) Kalala (2005) Hissane Habré: A Chadian Tragedy (2016) Distinctions Awards 1999: Best first film award at the Venice Film Festival for Bye Bye Africa 2006: Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival for Daratt. 2007: Yennenga bronze stallion and Best Photo Award at FESPACO 2007 for Daratt. 2010: Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival 2010 for A Screaming Man. 2010: Robert-Bresson Prize at the Venice Film Festival (awarded by the Catholic Church) for A Screaming Man. References External links BBC world service article World Socialist Web Site Alexandra Topping, Mahamat Saleh Haroun brings Chad to the world, and vice versa, through film, 25 February 2013, The Guardian 1961 births Chadian film directors Living people Chadian Muslims People from Ouaddaï Region Chadian expatriates in France People from N'Djamena