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Allah is Not Obliged

2026 · 80 min

A harrowing, clear-eyed plunge into a child's survival amid war, told with stark animation and unflinching honesty.

Overview
When ten-year-old Birahima’s mother dies, he leaves his native village in Guinea, accompanied by the sorcerer and cook Yacouba, to search for his aunt Mahan. Crossing the border into Liberia, they are seized by rebels and forced into military service. Birahima becomes a child-soldier. Fighting in a chaotic civil war alongside many other boys, Birahima sees death, torture, dismemberment and madness but somehow manages to retain his own sanity.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • survival
  • trauma
  • violence
  • isolation
Places
  • countryside
  • wilderness
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • animated
Content intensity
  • Gore strong
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action5
Horror6
Humour2
Realism7
Romance0
Tension7
Darkness9
Complexity6
Emotional weight9

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
animation, drama, war
Directed by
Zaven Najjar
Written by
Karine Winczura, Zaven Najjar
Starring
Chris Aboubacar Hanta Traoré / SK 07, Thomas Ngijol, Marc Zinga, Annabelle Lengronne
Music
Thibault Kienz Agyeman
Runtime
80 min
Country
France, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium
Languages
French

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