About
Ousmane Sembène, born January 1, 1923, in Ziguinchor, Senegal, and died June 9, 2007, in Dakar, is a major figure in African literature and cinema. After manual labor and service in the Free French Forces, he worked as a docker in Marseille and became a trade union activist. Self-taught, he published his first novel, Black Docker, in 1956, followed by God's Bits of Wood (1960), about a railway strike. Turning to film to reach non-literate audiences, he directed Borom Sarret (1963), widely considered the first sub-Saharan African film, and Black Girl (1966), the first African feature. His work, in French and Wolof, addresses colonialism, post-independence corruption, and women's roles. He received the Carrosse d'Or at Cannes in 2005.
* 1923-01-01 — † 2007-06-09
Major works
- Le Docker noir (1956)novel
- Les Bouts de bois de Dieu (1960)novel
- Borom Sarret (1963)film
- La Noire de… (1966)film
- Moolaadé (2004)film
Key milestones
- 1963Directed Borom Sarret, considered the first film by a sub-Saharan African director.
- 1968His film Mandabi is the first feature shot in an African language (Wolof).
- 2005Received the Carrosse d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for lifetime achievement.
Themes
colonialismclass conflictpost-independence corruptionwomen's rolesAfrican identity
Sources: britannica.com · festival-cannes.com · sensesofcinema.com