OUSMANE SEMBENE RETROSPECTIVE - INDEPENDENCE DAYS SECTION
The Independence Days Section, now in its fourth year as the official parallel section of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, remains committed to showcasing independent and unique works, to discovering new filmmakers from all over the world and to introducing its audience to those master directors whose work has fallen off the popular radar. For the 49th TIFF, the ID section has organized a Retrospective to the work of Senegalese film director and writer Ousmane Sembene, an icon of African cinema and literature who died in 2007 at the age of 84.
Born in Senegal in 1923, Sembene moved to France in 1947; there he was able to transform himself from an uneducated dockworker to an intellectual figure and political activist. After returning to the newly independent Senegal in 1960, he became the storyteller of his continent, a 20th century griot (West African bard), devoted to recounting the everyday struggles of his fellow Africans, through written word and later through images.
Sembene’ s first published work was the poem Liberte (1956) and throughout his prolific career, he wrote novels, short stories, essays and poetry. His core preoccupation as an artist and political individual was that Africa’s cultural heritage evolves continuously so that it may function as a resilient tool -weapon even- for its people. It was through culture and art that Sembene believed that the continent of Africa could raise its authentic voice and detach itself from the years and shattering heritage of colonialism.
Sembene initially turned to cinema due to his increasing frustration, originating from the high illiteracy rate of the continent: he was writing about his people, but they could not read his books. “I think cinema is needed throughout Africa, because we are lagging behind in the knowledge of our own history. I think we need to create a culture that is our own”, he stated in an interview with the Guardian in 2005. In his forty years as a filmmaker, Sembene shot fiction features, shorts and documentaries, some of which are impossible to find today; his work has been recognized and celebrated by film critics such as Laura Mulvey, Jonathan Rosenbaum and Dina Iordanova .The Independence Days section will showcase all the available Sembene films, such as Le Noire De… (Black Girl, 1966), Xala (1974), Camp de Thiaroye (1988) and Moolaade (2003). The Retrospective will be accompanied by a publication.
THE FILMS OF THE OUSMANE SEMBENE RETROSPECTIVE
Borom Sarret (1963)
La Noire de... (Black Girl, 1966)
Mandabi (The Money Order, 1968)
Emitai (1971)
Xala (1974)
Ceddo (1976)
Camp de Thiaroye (1988)
Guelwaar (1992)
Faat Kine (2000)
Moolaade (2004)
