The World of Senegalese Cinema
Article by Ashley Hajimirsadeghi, photograph by Victor Rutka
Senegal, a country in Western Africa, has had a thriving film scene despite a lack of studios distributing the work of young and hungry filmmakers. The roots of Senegalese cinema lie in decolonization efforts; during the independence movement from their French colonial rulers, filmmakers utilized cinema as a tool to reshape Africa as a separate entity from its colonial past. Countries like Senegal began to cultivate a rich film culture, offering to the world an insight into the deep history and culture of these nations.
One Senegalese film made was Afrique Sur Seine (Paulin Vieyra, 1955), which is about African students studying in Paris and their struggle to assimilate while facing homesickness. From the mid-1950s to 1970, Senegal was considered a pioneer in African cinema. The film La Noire De, or Black Girl, (Ousmane Sembène, 1966) showed the world that African cinema was a force to be reckoned with. La Noire De won the director, a Senegalese native, the Prix Jean Vigo award in the Cinema of France, a prestigious award only given to young French directors with distinctive visions and style.
It was in the 1970s that the golden era of Senegalese cinema began. Directors like Djibril Diop Mambéty began to create and release films about the social and political conditions that were plaguing African nations like Senegal. While many of these films were created under the backdrop of Senegal, the conditions described in the narratives resonated all across sub-Saharan Africa. Another major director, Safi Faye, was the first woman to direct a feature film in Sub-Saharan Africa that gained mainstream distribution and international accolades.
The film industry in Senegal began to decline in the 1980s. Directors like Safi Faye were active even though their work was never shown in Senegal because they were often domestically controversial. With the exception of the works of these three prominent directors mentioned, there was a lack of funding for Senegalese cinema. Sembène was active in filmmaking up until his death in 2007; yet opportunities were scarce for filmmakers besides him in Senegal due to the lack of resources and funding. As there are no major film schools in Africa, creatives just don’t have the support they need.
Senegal still is a thriving hub in Africa for cinema. But foreign studios and projects are often the ones funneling money into production. Félicité (2017), the work of French-born director Alain Gomis, would go on to be the first Senegalese film to make the Academy Awards shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film, bringing the country’s stories back on the global stage. Perhaps his success offers insight into the future of Senegalese cinema, one where distinctive voices within the nation are highlighted.
Notable Films:
Félicité by Alain Gomis, 2017
In Félicité, we follow a young woman named Félicité who works as a bar entertainer in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her young son has just been hospitalized because of a motorcycle accident, and she cannot afford the medical bills. For its examination of the poverty and struggles of women in DRC, this film won the Jury Prize at Berlin Film Festival.
La Noir De (Black Girl) by Ousmane Sembène, 1966
La Noir De is about Diouana, a young Senegalese woman from a poor village outside the capital city of Dakar. She is hired to be a caretaker for a rich French couple who eventually offer her a job in France. Faced with abuse and racism in France, the film follows Diouana’s struggle in a new country.
Badou Boy by Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1970
This short film follows a street urchin being chased by a cop who believes the boy is a menace to society. An insight to Dakar in the 1960s, the director pays homage to Charlie Chaplin and the ongoing influence of the West in African societies.
Camp de Thiaroye by Ousmane Sembène, 1988
A film banned in France for over a decade, it depicts the Thiaroye Massacre in which the French military murdered French West African troops mutinying for better living conditions and proper payment. The film tells the story of the troops and how they stood up for themselves. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Kaddu Beykat by Safi Faye
Kaddu Beykat follows a young man that desires to marry a woman in his village, but cannot afford to do so. The film’s story then follows him as he moves to the capital city of Dakar, is exploited, and struggles through life afterwards. It is told through villagers’ narrations, a nod to traditions of African cultures and the remnants of colonialism.
