Abortion drama from Chad stirs Cannes Film Festival

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, whose drama “Lingui” has been a standout of the first week of the Cannes Film Festival, has a unique relationship as a filmmaker to his native country of Chad

CANNES, France -- Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, whose drama “Lingui” has been a standout of the first week of the Cannes Film Festival, has a unique relationship as a filmmaker to his native country of Chad. Haroun is one of the African nation's only film directors and easily its most prominent. That role — national cinematic spokesman — has given him a heavy responsibility. “If I don’t bring images from Chad, my country will be forgotten,” Haroun said in an interview. “I have to make films to give other images of my country, rather than the cliché images of war, et cetera. It becomes more than a passion. It becomes a duty.” Haroun, who has lived in France since leaving Chad in 1982, has set all but one of his eight features there. “Lingui,” which is in competition for the top Palme d'Or prize at Cannes, is his first film with a female protagonist.