P.S. VIEYRA: PIONEER OF AFRICAN CINEMAS, FILMMAKER, PRODUCER AND HISTORIAN WORKSHOP, September 2019
Paulin Vieyra 7-DVD Box Set Available from African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF)
Order the 7-DVD Vieyra Box set HERE.
This 7-DVD box set includes Paulin Vieyra classics: Afrique sur Seine, Birago Diop, Môl, L’Envers du Décor – Ousmane Sembène: The Making of Ceddo, A Nation is Born, Lamb and Iba N’Diaye and a catalog of detailed history, timelines, highlights, testimonials and more.
Afrique sur Seine
Senegal/France, 1955, 21m
French with English subtitles
In this short documentary, Vieyra and his collaborator Mamadou Sarr explore the lives of Africans living in Paris, poetically evoking the ambiguities and questions about identity that plague students educated in colonialist spaces, removed from their comfort zone. In voice over, the film wonders if Africa is only in Africa or also on the banks of the Seine?
Birago Diop
Senegal, 1981, 21m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
A short film about the famous Senegalese writer and poet. While young writers of Antillean and African descent chose poetry to express the search for their identity within the Negritude movement, Birago Diop adopted African folklore as a mode of expression.
Môl
Senegal, 1966, 27m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
A young fisherman dreams of motorizing his boat to better his working conditions. This dream becomes a reality, thanks to his courage and persistence. But this achievement creates a conflict between traditional values and the modern notion of progress.
L’Envers du Décor – Ousmane Sembène: The Making of Ceddo
Senegal, 1981, 25m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
Paulin Vieyra captures Ousmane Sembène, one of the greatest filmmakers of Africa, during the filming of Ceddo. L’Envers du Décor was completed after four years of production. As for Ceddo, it would be censored under the Senghor regime and until 1983 by the Senegalese authorities.
A Nation is Born
Senegal, 1961, 25m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
In 1958, Vieyra set up a special office dedicated to filmmaking in Senegal, which, after the independence (1960), became the base of the country’s cinematography. A Nation is Born is a historical portrait of Vieyra’s homeland showing scenes from pre-colonial traditions, represented mainly by dance, to the exploitative European domination, to the new beginning represented by the celebration of the republic.
Lamb
Senegal, 1963, 18m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
This documentary captures the sport of traditional wrestling, called ‘lamb’ in Wolof, popular in Senegal. Vieyra presents the rigorous rules of the sport and training practices by the sea. The Dakar Arena serves as a showcase for the battles in the film, where every spectator can bet on his favorite wrestler in a festive atmosphere. Fifty years ago, Lamb was in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, a first for a film from sub-Saharan Africa.
Iba N’Diaye
Senegal, 1982, 35m
Wolof and French with English subtitles
During an interview with the filmmaker Paulin Vieyra, the painter Iba Ndiaye recalls key moments of his life. He begins with his childhood in Senegal and his studies at the Lycee Faidherbe in St. Louis of Senegal, where he was drawn to design and graphic arts. African nature and its sweeping horizons remain however his main sources of inspiration. Iba Ndiaye died in Paris on Saturday, October 34, 2008 at the age of 80. His works have been exhibited throughout the entire world.
Order the 7-DVD Vieyra Box set HERE.
About the Director
Paulin Soumanou Vieyra
Order the 7-DVD Vieyra Box set HERE.
Biography: Paulin Soumanou Vieyra was born in Porto-Novo, Benin in January of 1925, but grew up in Senegal. He was both a director and historian of African cinema. His film Afrique sur Seine is credited as being one of the first francophone African films to ever be released. He later went on to found the “Fédération panafricaine des cinéastes” in 1969. Vieyra was the mentor of great figures of the seventh art, such as Ousmane Sembène, Djibril Diop Mambéty, Ababacar Samb-Makharam. He passed away in November of 1987 at the age of 62.
Films Shown in AFF, Inc. Programs:
Afrique sur Seine (2019);
A Nation Was Born (Une Nation est née) (2018);
Lamb (2018, 2019);
L’Envers du Decor – Ousmane Sembène: The Making of Ceddo (2018, 2019).
Filmography:
C’était il y a quatre ans (1954);
Afrique-sur-Seine (1955);
L’Afrique à Moscou (1957);
Le Niger aujourd’hui (1958);
Les présidents Senghor et Modibo Keita (1959);
Avec les Africaines à Vienne (1959);
“Présence Africaine” à Rome (1959);
Indépendance du Cameroun, Togo, Congo, Madagascar (1960);
Une nation est née (1961);
Lamb (1963);
Voyage du président Senghor en Italie (1963);
Voyage présidentiel en URSS (1963);
Avec l’ensemble national (1964);
Écrit du Caire (1964);
Sindiely (1964);
Voyage du président Senghor au Brésil (1964);
N’diongane (1965);
Le Sénégal au festival national des arts nègres (1966);
Môl (1966);
Au marché (1967);
La bicyclette (1967);
Le gâteau (1967);
Rendez-vous (1967);
Écrit de Dakar (1974);
L’art plastique (1974);
L’habitat rural au Sénégal (1976);
L’habitat urbain au Sénégal (1976);
Birago Diop (1981);
En résidence surveillée, L’envers du décor (1981);
Les oiseaux (1981);
Iba N’diaye (1982).
AFF Mission
African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF) is dedicated to advancing an enhanced understanding of African culture through the moving image. It offers diverse platforms for the wide distribution of African media through its flagship annual film festival and complementary year-round programming. AFF is committed to increasing visibility and recognition for African media artists by introducing African film and culture to a broad range of audiences in the United States and abroad, bypassing economic, class and racial barriers.
In 1990, AFF’s founders established goals that continue to enrich the organization mission and organizational development: To use African cinema to promote and increase knowledge and understanding of African arts, literature and culture; To develop an audience for African films; To expand the opportunities for the distribution of African films in the United States and abroad.
More scenes from the BFC/A’s Vieyra Workshop
Vincent Bouchard at the Black Film Center/Archive’s Vieyra Workshop on Friday, September 6, 2019. 
Professors, Critics, Students, and Librarians gathered to discuss Vieyra as Post-Colonial Figure. 
Catherine Ruelle, Dana Vanderburgh, and Claire Fouchereaux at the Vieyra Workshop in September, 2019. 
Rachel Gabara at the Vieyra Workshop at the Black Film Center/Archive. 
Greg Waller and Sada Niang examine the Ousmane Sembène collections at the Lilly Library. Vieyra Workshop at IU Bloomington on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. 
Group Portrait of Vieyra Workshop Participants at IU Bloomington on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. 
Joy Roberts at the Black Film Center/Archive’s Vieyra Workshop on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019.
Order the 7-DVD Vieyra Box set HERE.
The Paulin Vieyra Workshop at the Black Film Center/Archive was funded by the College Arts and Humanities Institute (CAHI), the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), the Department of French and Italian (FRIT), the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (DEMA), the IU Libraries Moving Image Archive Screening Room, the Lilly Library and the African Studies Program (ASP) at Indiana University.
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