Ousmane Sembène
1923 - 2007
Camp de Thiaroye
Thierno Faty Sow, Ousmane Sembène
Sidiki Bakaba, Hamed Camara
A Senegalese platoon of soldiers from the French Free Army are returned from combat in France and held for a temporary time in a military encampment with barbed wire fences and guard towers in the desert. Among their numbers are Sergeant Diatta, the charismatic leader of the troop who was educated in Paris and has a French wife and child, and Pays, a Senegalese soldier left in a state of shock from the war and concentration camps and who can only speak in guttural screams and grunts.
Camp de Thiaroye
Sembène: The Making of African Cinema
Manthia Diawara, Thiong'o Ngugi-wa
Ousmane Sembène
Senegalese documentary about the country's most famous film-maker - Ousmane Sembène. The groundbreaking director explains his philosophy, politics and hopes for the future of African cinema.
Sembène: The Making of African Cinema
Mandabi
Ousmane Sembène
Makhouredia Gueye, Ynousse N'Diaye
A money order from a relative in Paris throws the life of a Senegalese family man out of order. He deals with corruption, greed, problematic family members, the locals and the changing from his traditional way of living to a more modern one.
Mandabi
L'envers du décor
Paulin Soumanou Vieyra
Ousmane Sembène
Paulin Vieyra captures Ousmane Sembène, one of the greatest filmmakers of Africa, during the filming of Ceddo. L’Envers du Decor was completed after four years of production. As for Ceddo, it would be censored under the Senghor regime and until 1983 by the Senegalese authorities.
Behind the Scenes: The Making of Ceddo
Xala
Ousmane Sembène
Thierno Leye, Myriam Niang
It is the dawn of Senegal's independence from France, but as the citizens celebrate in the streets we soon become aware that only the faces have changed. White money still controls the government. One official, Aboucader Beye, known by the title "El Hadji," takes advantage of some of that money to marry his third wife, to the sorrow and chagrin of his first two wives and the resentment of his nationalist daughter. But he discovers on his wedding night that he has been struck with a "xala," a curse of impotence. El Hadji goes to comic lengths to find the cause and remove the xala, resulting in a scathing satirical ending.
Xala
