Ousmane Sembène focus of movies at Detroit Institute of Arts’ Detroit Film Theatre in August “Black Girl,” “Borom Sarret” and documentary “Sembène!” featured
Updated Aug 2, 2016
August 2, 2016 (Detroit)—The Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will screen the 1965 movie “Black Girl” by acclaimed Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène, followed by his 1963 short “Borom Sarret” Aug. 12–21 and the documentary “Sembène!” Aug. 13.
“Black Girl” was the first feature-length film by Sembène (1923–2007), who is widely considered to be the father of African cinema. It tells the story of a young Senegalese maid’s forced exile when her white employers want to use her as a servant at their home in the south of France. Focusing on the emotional toll taken on a single human being, Sembène’s eloquent, powerful depiction of the dehumanizing impact of colonialist oppression was only the first in his body of masterworks. His 1963 20-minute short “Borom Sarret,” a vivid portrait of a Dakar cart-driver’s daily struggle for survival, will also be screened. Both are films are newly restored and are in French with English subtitles. Dates and times: Aug. 12-13, 7 p.m.; Aug. 14, 2 p.m.; Aug. 20, 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 21, 4:30 p.m.
On Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. the DFT will show the documentary “Sembène!” The movie traces the path of this visionary and sometimes controversial artist who transformed himself into an unlikely yet fearless spokesperson for the marginalized, becoming a hero to millions. In the early 1950s, Sembène, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, had a goal to become the griot (storyteller) for a new Africa. “Sembéne!” documents the life of this novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a half-century-long battle to return African stories to Africans. “Sembéne!” is told through the experiences of a man who knew him well, colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and interviews. In Wolof, French and English with English subtitles. (86 min.)
Tickets are $9.50 for general admission, $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.
August 2, 2016 (Detroit)—The Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will screen the 1965 movie “Black Girl” by acclaimed Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène, followed by his 1963 short “Borom Sarret” Aug. 12–21 and the documentary “Sembène!” Aug. 13.
“Black Girl” was the first feature-length film by Sembène (1923–2007), who is widely considered to be the father of African cinema. It tells the story of a young Senegalese maid’s forced exile when her white employers want to use her as a servant at their home in the south of France. Focusing on the emotional toll taken on a single human being, Sembène’s eloquent, powerful depiction of the dehumanizing impact of colonialist oppression was only the first in his body of masterworks. His 1963 20-minute short “Borom Sarret,” a vivid portrait of a Dakar cart-driver’s daily struggle for survival, will also be screened. Both are films are newly restored and are in French with English subtitles. Dates and times: Aug. 12-13, 7 p.m.; Aug. 14, 2 p.m.; Aug. 20, 9:30 p.m.; Aug. 21, 4:30 p.m.
On Aug. 13 at 4 p.m. the DFT will show the documentary “Sembène!” The movie traces the path of this visionary and sometimes controversial artist who transformed himself into an unlikely yet fearless spokesperson for the marginalized, becoming a hero to millions. In the early 1950s, Sembène, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, had a goal to become the griot (storyteller) for a new Africa. “Sembéne!” documents the life of this novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a half-century-long battle to return African stories to Africans. “Sembéne!” is told through the experiences of a man who knew him well, colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and interviews. In Wolof, French and English with English subtitles. (86 min.)
Tickets are $9.50 for general admission, $7.50 for DIA members, seniors and students.