Sembene!

About

Sembene! | Jason Silverman, Samba Gadjigo | Senegal | 2015 | 86 min

In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. SEMBENE! tells the unbelievable true story of the self-taught “father of African cinema,” who fought enormous odds to return African stories to Africa. SEMBENE! uses rare archival footage and more than 100 hours of exclusive materials to craft a true-life epic, as an ordinary man transforms himself into a fearless spokesperson for the marginalized. After becoming a hero to millions, Sembene suffers a startling fall from grace. Can Africa’s storyteller reinvent himself once more?

Awards

Jury Prize, Emerge Film Festival, Maine, US 2016

Prix Jeunesse, Les Escales Documentaires de Libreville 2015

Jury Prize, Luxor African Film Festival 2016