Sembène Ousmane

After working as a babysitter for a French family in Dakar, a young Senegalese woman is invited to come to France as a governess. But in the West she is only "the black girl" for everyone. Deprived of her freedom, her dignity and her identity, she sees only a radical last act of resistance. Ousmane Sembène's feature film debut was one of the very first African feature films and is based on a newspaper report about the suicide of an African housemaid. From this, Sembène formed a parable about neo-colonialism and the new slave trade. More

Borom Sarret is often regarded as the first film ever made in Africa by a black African. Ousmane Sembène tells the story of a poor man who tries to make a living in Dakar as a carter. Although he expects to be paid for his services, he has trouble making this clear and is often disappointed and exploited. This short film illustrates that the independence of the country could not solve the problems of its population. More