The films and legacy of Ousmane Sembène will be the focus of the 2nd Africana Film Festival at Miami University (Ohio).
In addition to refocusing attention on the films of Sembène, the festival “is meant to serve both as an opportunity to open up new inroads in the criticism of Ousmane Sembène’s artistic achievement and address the broader question of the place of African artistic creation in the broader context of European and American post-war movements,” according to Dr. Babacar Camara, the convener of the festival.
Six different films will be screened over three days at Miami’s Middletown, Hamilton, and Oxford campuses including La Noire de… (1966), Camp de Thiaroye (1989), and Moolade (2004).
Additionally, three roundtable discussions will focus the festival on the varied realms of Sembène’s filmmaking. “Tributes and criticisms have focused on his political commitment alone. This conference seeks to reverse this tendency by addressing the various worlds of Sembène,” said Camara.
“In 2003, Sembène said ‘I will never kneel. I have a job to do and no one assigned it to me. I need to talk to my people and that, I cannot do in hiding.’ In 2007, Sembène passed away, the year of Miami’s 1st Africana Film Festival. I immediately felt like honoring this monument of African cinema.”
Below, the schedule for the festival:
In the meantime, enjoy the Sembène related links:
- Films written and directed by Ousmane Sembene (with trailers)
- ‘A Filmmaker Who Found Africa’s Voice’ – NY Times piece by A.O. Scott
- Sembène Ousmane, an appreciation by Mamadou Diang (includes last recorded interview)
- Sembène! A documentary project by Samba Gadjigo & Jason Silverman
- Sembène: The Making of African Cinema (trailer) by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o & Manthia Diawara (1993)
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