Sembene!
A documentary by Samba Gadjigo & Jason Silverman
In 1952, Ousmane Sembéne, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout from Senegal, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. SEMBENE!, a feature-length HD documentary, tells the unbelievable true story of the “father of African cinema,” the self-taught novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give African stories to Africans. SEMBENE! is told through the experiences of the man who knew him best, colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and more than 100 hours of exclusive materials. A true-life epic, SEMBENE! follows an ordinary man who transforms himself into a fearless spokesperson for the marginalized, becoming a hero to millions. After a startling fall from grace, can Sembéne reinvent himself once more?
Top ten film 2015! “Endlessly fascinating ... an enormously moving portrait of the profound way that art can transform those who come in contact with it ... movie love at its most powerful, relevant incarnation.”—Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine
“A brilliant introduction not to the work of a single filmmaker but an entire universe. It’s the best introduction to African cinema. If you haven’t seen African cinema, this is the place to start.” —Milos Stehlik, WBEZ Worldview
“(Best documentary of 2015) ... A great introduction, a tantalizing invitation to see his films ... as potent as a Molotov cocktail.”—Louis Proyect, Counterpunch