Showing: Ousmane Sembène  
Black Girl

Ousmane Sembène, one of the greatest and most groundbreaking filmmakers who ever lived and the most internationally renowned African director of the twentieth century, made his feature debut in 1966 with the brilliant and stirring Black Girl (La noire de . . .).

Ousmane Sembène Senegal, 1966
DCP, Blu-ray

Borom sarret

This groundbreaking short film, which won first prize at the 1963 Touris Film Festival in France, was the directorial debut of Ousmane Sembène.

Ousmane Sembène Senegal, 1963
DCP, Blu-ray

Ceddo

In precolonial Senegal, members of the Ceddo (or “outsiders”) kidnap Princess Dior Yacine (Tabata Ndiaye) after her father (Makhourédia Guèye), the king, pledges loyalty to an ascendant Islamic faction that plans to convert the entire clan to its faith.

Ousmane Sembène Senegal, 1977
DCP

Emitaï

Seething with outrage, Ousmane Sembène’s Emitaï envisions both the cruelties of oppression and the revolutionary potential of the oppressed.

Ousmane Sembène Senegal, 1971
DCP

Guelwaar

“Guelwaar” is the nickname of Pierre Henri Thioune (Thierno Ndiaye), a political radical and agitator whose criticism of Senegal’s reliance on foreign aid ruffles the feathers of the powers-that-be.

Ousmane Sembène France, 1992
DCP

Mandabi

This second feature by Ousmane Sembène was the first movie ever made in the Wolof language—a major step toward the realization of the trailblazing Senegalese filmmaker’s dream of creating a cinema by, about, and for Africans.

Ousmane Sembène Senegal, 1968
DCP, Blu-ray, DVD

Xala

An adaptation of Ousmane Sembène’s own 1973 novel, Xala offers a hilarious, caustic satire of political corruption under an inept patriarchy.

Ousmane Sembène Senegal, 1975
DCP