Contents
Ousmane Sembène
Helping establish African cinema as a medium for social criticism.
Black Girl · Xala
- Born
- 1 January 1923
- Birthplace
- Ziguinchor, Senegal
- Died
- 9 June 2007
More people
Ousmane Sembène
Ousmane Sembène was a Senegalese novelist and director whose films examined colonialism, class, gender and power.
Early life
Early employment
Worked in manual trades before military service.
Marseille
Worked on the docks and became involved in labour politics.
Career
- 1950s
Novelist
Began publishing fiction in France.
- 1960s
Move into film
Studied filmmaking and returned to Senegal to direct.
- 1970s–2000s
Independent cinema
Made films challenging political and social hierarchies.
Selected films
Black Girl
Followed a Senegalese domestic worker in France.
Xala
Satirised the post-independence elite.
Moolaadé
Dramatised resistance to female genital cutting.
Beyond work
Language
Used African languages to reach audiences beyond French-speaking elites.
Literature
His novel God’s Bits of Wood portrays a railway strike.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Günter Prust. CC BY 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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