Sembène!

An enormously moving portrait of the profound way that art can transform those who come in contact with it.

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

A former dockworker who rose to become a founding figure of African cinema and one of the greatest postwar filmmakers of any continent, Ousmane Sembène lived a life as dramatic as any of his characters’. Coming of age when all of Africa dreamed of independence from colonial rule, Sembène channeled the hopes and struggles of an entire continent into his novels and films. This documentary, co-helmed by his colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, unveils the brilliance and complexities of an artist who fought to give Africans a voice, and a way to be seen.

Jason Sanders
FILM DETAILS 
Cinematographer
  • David Aubrey
  • Jim Bitterman
Language
  • English
  • French
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • Color
  • DCP
  • 86 mins
Source
  • Kino Lorber
Preceded By

Marseille après la guerre

Billy Woodberry, United States, France, 2015

Legendary LA Rebellion filmmaker Woodberry merges archival photos of dockworkers in postwar Marseille (where Sembène worked) with reflections on Sembène’s political awakening.

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • B&W
  • DCP
  • 11 mins
source
  • Comedia Divina