Ousmane Sembène

Directing

Ousmane Sembène

Born January 1, 1923 · Ziguinchor, Casamance, Senegal

Died June 9, 2007 · aged 84

Ousmane Sembène (January 1, 1923 — June 9, 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The Los Angeles Times considered him one of the greatest authors of Africa and he has often been called the "Father of African film."

Known For

MandabiMandabi · 1968
Mandabi
★ 7.11968
MovieComedyDrama
A money order from a relative in Paris throws the life of a Senegalese family man out of order. He deals with corruption, greed, problematic family members, the locals and the changing from his traditional way of living to a more modern one.
Black GirlBlack Girl · 1966
Black Girl
★ 7.31966
MovieDrama
Eager to find a better life abroad, a Senegalese woman becomes a mere governess to a family in southern France, suffering from discrimination and marginalization.
XalaXala · 1975
Xala
★ 6.81975
MovieComedy
A rich businessman in Senegal is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; the only cure is brutal public humiliation.
TauwTauw · 1970
Tauw
★ 7.21970
MovieDrama
A young unemployed man fends off accusations of laziness and makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend who has been rejected by her family.
EmitaïEmitaï · 1973
Emitaï
★ 7.31973
MovieDrama
As World War II rages in Europe, a conflict arises between the French and the Diola-speaking tribe of Africa, prompting the village women to organize their men to sit beneath a tree to pray.
Faat KinéFaat Kiné · 2001
Faat Kiné
★ 6.72001
MovieDrama
A forty-year-old woman refuses to give into the stigma of unwed motherhood and climbs the ladder of success in a male dominated field.
CeddoCeddo · 1978
Ceddo
★ 6.71978
MovieDrama
The Ceddo people try to preserve their traditional African culture against the onslaught of Islam, Christianity, and the slave trade. When King Demba War sides with the Muslims, the Ceddo kidnap his daughter, Princess Dior Yacine, to protest their forcible conversion to Islam.
Camp de ThiaroyeCamp de Thiaroye · 1988
Camp de Thiaroye
★ 7.51988
MovieWarDrama
A Senegalese platoon of soldiers from the French Free Army return from combat and are temporarily held in a military encampment with barbed wire fences and guard towers in the desert. Among them are charismatic Sergeant Diatta, educated in Paris and has a French wife and child, and Pays, a soldier left in a state of shock who can only communicate in guttural screams and grunts.

Filmography

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