Ousmane Sembène
Ousmane Sembène | |
---|---|
Born | Ziguinchor, Casamance, French West Africa | 1 January 1923
Died | 9 June 2007 Dakar, Senegal | (aged 84)
Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter, actor & author |
Language | Wolof, French |
Nationality | Senegalese |
Years active | 1956–2003 |
Notable works | Borom Sarret (1963)
Black Girl (1966) Mandabi (1968) |
Website | |
Official website |
Ousmane Sembène (French:
Early life
The son of a
Sembène's knowledge of French and basic
In 1944, Sembène was drafted into the
Late in 1947, he stowed away to France, where he worked at a
Early literary career
Sembène taught himself to read and write in French and later drew on many of his life experiences in his French-language first novel, Le Docker Noir (The Black Docker, 1956),
Sembène's second novel, O Pays, mon beau peuple! (Oh country, my beautiful people!, 1957), tells the story of Oumar, an ambitious black farmer returning to his native Casamance with a new white wife and ideas for modernizing the area's agricultural practices. However, Oumar struggles against both the French colonial government and the village social order, and is eventually murdered. O Pays, mon beau peuple! was an international success, giving Sembène invitations from around the world, particularly from Communist countries such as China, Cuba, and the Soviet Union.
Sembène's third and most famous novel is Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu (
Sembène followed Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu with the (1962) short fiction collection Voltaïque (Tribal Scars). The collection contains short stories, tales, and fables, including "La Noire de..." which he would later adapt into his first film. In 1964, he released l'Harmattan (The Harmattan), an epic novel about a referendum for independence in an African capital.
From 1962 to 1963, Sembène studied filmmaking for a year at Gorky Film Studio, Moscow, under Soviet director Mark Donskoy.
Later literary career
With the 1965 publication of Le mandat, précédé de Vehi-Ciosane (The Money Order and White Genesis), Sembène's emphasis began to shift. Just as he had once vociferously attacked the racial and economic oppression of the French colonial government, with this pair of novellas, he turned his sights on the corrupt African elites that followed. He was one of the contributors of Lotus which was launched in Cairo in 1968 and financed by Egypt and the Soviet Union.[7]
Sembène continued this theme with the 1973 novel , but only after losing most of his money and reputation does he discover the source to be the beggar who lives outside his offices, whom he wronged in acquiring his fortune.
Le Dernier de l’empire (The Last of the Empire, 1981), Sembène's last novel, depicts corruption and an eventual military coup in a newly independent African nation. His paired 1987 novellas Niiwam et Taaw (Niiwam and Taaw) continue to explore social and moral collapse in urban Senegal.
On the strength of Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu and Xala, Sembène is considered one of the leading figures in African postcolonial literature. Samba Gadjigo writes, "Of Sembène's ten published literary works, seven have been translated into English"[8] whereas Nigerian pioneer writers Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka wrote in English.
Film
As an author concerned with social change, Sembène wished to touch a wide audience. He realized that his written works would reach only the cultural elites, but that films were "the people's night school"[3] and could reach a much broader African audience.
In 1963, Sembène produced his first film, a short called
Later Wolof-language films include
In 1977 his film Ceddo was entered into the 10th Moscow International Film Festival.[15] In the same year he was a member of the jury at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival.[16] At the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979, he was awarded with the Honorable Prize for the contribution to cinema.[17]
Recurrent themes of Sembène's films are the history of colonialism, the failings of religion, the critique of the new African bourgeoisie, and the strength of African women.
His final film, the 2004 feature
He is the subject of the 2015 documentary film, Sembene!.
Sembène often makes a cameo appearance in his films. For example, in Mandabi he plays the letter writer at the post office.[19]
Death
Ousmane Sembène died on 9 June 2007, at the age of 84. He had been ill since December 2006, and died at his home in Dakar, Senegal, where he was buried in a shroud adorned with Quranic verses.[20] Sembène was survived by three sons from two marriages.[21]
Seipati Bulane Hopa, Secretary General of the
South Africa's Pallo Jordan, Minister of Arts and Culture, went further in eulogizing Sembène as "a well rounded intellectual and an exceptionally cultured humanist...an informed social critic [who] provided the world with an alternative knowledge of Africa."[22]
Works
Books
- Sembène, Ousmane (1956). Le Docker noir. Paris: Debresse. Also a new edition by publisher Présence Africaine of 2002.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1957). O Pays, mon beau peuple!. Amiot Dumont, 1957. OCLC 1009422560.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1988). Les bouts de bois de Dieu : Banty mam yall. [Paris]: Le Livre Contemporain. OCLC 62109468. A later edition of the original of 1960.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1995). OCLC 562242510.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1995).
- Sembène, Ousmane (1962). Voltaïque (OCLC 312515053. Short stories.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1974). OCLC 763705.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1974).
- Sembène, Ousmane (1964). L'Harmattan (novel). Paris: Présence Africaine. OCLC 460661419. Reprint 1973.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1965). Vehi-Ciosane ou Blanche-Genèse, suivi du Mandat. Paris: Présence Africaine (Ligugé, impr. Aubin). OCLC 460661424.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1987). OCLC 572500.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1987).
- Sembène, Ousmane (1973). Xala. Paris: Présence africaine.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1981). Le dernier de l'Empire. Paris: L'Harmattan. OCLC 405576233.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1983). The last of the Empire : a Senegalese novel. Translated by Adams, Adrian. London: Heinemann. OCLC 10030343. "A key to Senegalese politics" – Werner Glinga.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1983). The last of the Empire : a Senegalese novel. Translated by Adams, Adrian. London: Heinemann.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1987). Niiwam : nouvelles. Paris: Présence africaine. OCLC 631337297.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1991). Niiwam and Taaw [two novellas]. [Cape Town]: D. Philip. OCLC 24360778. Also Oxford and Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1992.
- Sembène, Ousmane (1991). Niiwam and Taaw [two novellas]. [Cape Town]: D. Philip.
Selected filmography
Sembène's films include:[23][24][25][26]
Year | Film | Genre | Role | Duration (min) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1963 | Borom Sarret | Drama short Portrait of a poor Senegalese man. First film made by a black African.[25] |
Director and writer | 20 m |
1964 | Niaye | Drama short The scandal of a pregnant young girl |
Director and writer | 35 m |
1966 | La Noire de... |
Drama feature A Senegalese girl becomes a servant in France |
Director and writer | 65 m |
1968 | Mandabi | Drama feature A Senegalese man has to cope with a money order from Paris |
Director and writer | 92 m |
1970 | Tauw | Drama short A young man makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend |
Director and writer | 24 m |
1971 | Emitaï | Drama feature Jola people protest World War II French conscription |
Director and writer | 103 m |
1975 | Xala | Comedy feature A corrupt politician is cursed with impotence |
Director and writer | 123 m |
1977 | Ceddo | Drama feature In protest outsiders (Ceddo, non-muslims) kidnap a black princess |
Director and co-writer with Carrie Sembene | 120 m |
1988 | Camp de Thiaroye | Historical drama feature In the 1944 Thiaroye massacre French troops kill rebelling returned black soldiers |
Co-director and co-writer with Thierno Faty Sow | 147 m |
1992 | Guelwaar | Drama feature Religious and political satire on an erroneous burial |
Director and writer | 115 m |
2000 | Faat Kiné | Drama feature An unwed mother succeeds professionally |
Director and writer | 120 m |
2004 | Moolaadé | Drama feature Women protest female genital mutilation |
Director and writer | 124 m |
Further reading
- Adeniyi, Idowu Emmanuel (2019). "Male Other, Female Self and Post-feminist Consciousness in Sembène Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood and Flora Nwapa's Efuru". Ibadan Journal of English Studies. 7: 57–72.
- Busch, Annett; Annas, Max (2008). Ousmane Sembène interviews. [Jackson]: University Press of Mississippi. OCLC 778204000.
- "Ousmane Sembène: Interviews. Edited by Annett Busch and Max Annas". upress.state.ms.us. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
Culture is political, but it's another type of politics. In art, you are political, but you say, 'We are' and not 'I am.'
- "Ousmane Sembène: Interviews. Edited by Annett Busch and Max Annas". upress.state.ms.us. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Gadjigo, Samba; Faulkingham, Ralph H.; Cassirer, Thomas; Sander, Reinhard, eds. (1993). Ousmane Sembène : dialogues with critics and writers. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. OCLC 28339413.
- Gadjigo, Samba (2010). Ousmane Sembène : the making of a militant artist. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. OCLC 313659212.
- Mumin, Nijla (4 October 2013). "Caméras d'Afrique: Elvis Mitchell On West African Cinema and The Need for Diverse Film Criticism (Interview)". IndieWire. Penske Business Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Murphy, David (2001). Imagining Alternatives in Film and Fiction – Sembene'. Oxford: Africa World Press Inc. OCLC 254943835.
- Niang, Sada; Gadjigo (Fall 1995). "Interview with Ousmane Sembene". Research in African Literatures. 26 (3): 174–178.
- Niang, Sada (1996). Littérature et cinéma en afrique francophone: Ousmane Sembène et Assia Djebar. Paris: L’Harmattan. OCLC 917569861.
- Pfaff, Françoise (1984). The Cinema of Ousmane Sembene: A Pioneer of African Film. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. OCLC 10605185.
- Rubaba, Protas Pius (2009). "The influence of feminist communication in creating social transformation: an analysis of the films Moolaade (Ousmane Sembene) and Water (Deepa Mehta)" (PDF). vital.seals.ac.za. South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS). p. 132. Master thesis in Applied Media Studies, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
- Vieyra, Paulin Soumanou (1972). Ousmane Sembène cineaste: première période, 1962–1971. Paris: Présence Africaine. OCLC 896779795.
References
- ISBN 978-0-253-00426-0.
- S2CID 192052034.
- ^ a b c d e f "Ousmane Sembene, 84; Senegalese hailed as 'the father of African film'". Los Angeles Times. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0253354137 [1](Retrieved : 10 August 2012)
- ^ "Ousmane Sembene: The Life of a Revolutionary Artist". newsreel.org. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ISBN 9781934110867.
- ^ Firoze Manji (3 March 2014). "The Rise and Significance of Lotus". CODESRIA. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Samba Gadjigo "OUSMANE SEMBENE: THE LIFE OF A REVOLUTIONARY ARTIST" California Newsreel, San Francisco [2]
- ^ a b "Emitai Ceddo". Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ Berridan, Brenda F. (2004), Manu Dibango and Ceddo's Transatlantic Soundscape, in Focus on African Films. Indiana University Press, p. 151.
- ^ Busch, Annett, and Max Annas (eds), (2008). Ousmane Sembène: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi, p. 135.
- ^ "Ceddo Emitai Ousmane Sembene". 2 February 1998. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "7th Moscow International Film Festival (1971)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ^ "9th Moscow International Film Festival (1975)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- ^ "10th Moscow International Film Festival (1977)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ "Berlinale 1977: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
- ^ "11th Moscow International Film Festival (1979)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Moolaadé". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
- ^ Francoise, Pfaff (1993). "The Uniqueness of Ousmane Sembene's Cinema". Contributions in Black Studies. 11 (1).
- ^ Callimachi, Rukmini "Father of African cinema buried in Senegal" 12 June 2007. [3] Archived 22 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (13 June 2007). "Obituaries – 'Ousmane Sembene'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ a b Tributes to Ousmane Sembene: 1923 – 2007 Archived 24 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, screenafrica.com
- ^ "Ousmane Sembène. Réalisateur/trice, Ecrivain/ne, Acteur/trice, Producteur/trice, Scénariste, Personne concernée. Sénégal". africultures.com (in French). Africultures. Les mondes en relation. 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ "Ousmane Sembène Film director, Writer, Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Person concerned". africine.org. Fédération africaine de la critique cinématographique (FACC). 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ IMDb
- ^ "Ousmane Sembène Director". New York: African Film Festival, Inc. (AFF). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
External links
Videos
- Ceddo (1977), with English and French Subtitles (**enable Closed Caption for English subtitles**) on YouTube. Video duration 1h:51m:41s. Uploader XMusicMusicX 2013.
- FILM GUELEWAR Ousmane Sembene 1992 (en Français) on YouTube. Video duration 1h:29m:38s. Uploader Roomnart 2022.
General
- "Authors & Artists. Sembene, Ousmane". scholarblogs.emory.edu. Postcolonial Studies, Emory University. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
As far as I am concerned, I no longer support notions of purity. Purity has become a thing of the past. . .
- Ousmane Sembène at IMDb
- Gadjigo, Samba. "Ousmane Sembene: the life of a revolutionary artist". newsreel.org. California Newsreel, San Francisco. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
Crossing the geographical and national borders of his native Senegal, Ousmane Sembene's literary and cinematographic output places him today as the "father" of African films and as one of the most prolific "French-speaking" African writers in this first century of "creative" writing in francophone Africa.
- "Interview with Ousmane Sembène — father of African film". socialistworker.co.uk. Socialist Worker. 11 June 2005. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Scott, A.O. (11 June 2007). "An Appraisal: A Filmmaker Who Found Africa's Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Scott, A.O. (12 June 2007). "Ousmane Sembène, 84, Dies; Led Cinema's Advance in Africa". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- "Ousmane Sembène. Réalisateur/trice, Ecrivain/ne, Acteur/trice, Producteur/trice, Scénariste, Personne concernée. Sénégal". africultures.com (in French). Africultures. Les mondes en relation. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Busch, Annett; Annas, Max. "Ousmane Sembene Interviews". missingimage.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- "Ousmane Sembene". wnyc.org. New York Public Radio, WNYC. 12 October 2004. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene on his distinguished and prolific career, as well as his latest film: Moolaadé.
Duration 31 min 20 sec. Audio file of the interview on the Leonard Lopate show. - Amekudji, Anoumou (23 October 2009). "Selected lines of the book "Ousmane Sembène Interviews"". blog.cineafrique.org/. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
I interviewed Sembène Ousmane on July 25, 2006. We were supposed to meet again to continue the discussion and talk about other elements of his Cinema but he passed away at the beginning of June 2007.
- "Ousmane Sembène. The Making of a Militant Artist. Samba Gadjigo. Translated by Moustapha Diop. Foreword by Danny Glover". iupress.indiana.edu. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. 2010. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- "Sembène: The Making of African Cinema (1994)". maumaus.org. Lisbon, Portugal: Associação Maumaus - Centro de Contaminação Visual. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
In this rich documentary, legendary Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène reminisces about his career and discusses the craft of his films and novels.
Review of the film by Manthia Diawara and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.
In French
- Amekudji, Anoumou. "Rencontre avec Sembène Ousmane, écrivain-cinéaste sénégalais". blog.cineafrique.org (in French). Archived from the original on 7 May 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
Article paru dans l'hebdomadaire sénégalais, Weekend, l'hebdo du Quotidien, Semaine du 2 au 8 aout 2007
. One of the last interviews of Sembene Ousmane. - Barlet, Olivier (27 May 2005). "La leçon de cinéma d'Ousmane Sembène au festival de Cannes 2005" (in French). Archived from the original on 23 November 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Barlet, Olivier (11 June 2007). "Sembène, le mécréant". africultures.com (in French). africultures. Les mondes en relation. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- Barlet, Olivier (15 August 2007). "Entretien avec Ousmane Sembène". africultures.com (in French). africultures. Les mondes en relation. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "LE PÈRE DU CINÉMA AFRICAIN. Ousmane Sembène, le Dakarois en perpétuelle révolte". courrierinternational.com (in French). Courier International. 15 December 2004. Retrieved 7 October 2023. Ultimate source: International Herald Tribune.
- "Cinéma > Ousmane SEMBENE". senegalaisement.com (in French). Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2023.