May is Africa Month and what better way to celebrate our Motherland than sharing more stories of our people?
For all you documentary lovers, Sembene! is one you should checkout. Sembene tells a journey of Senegalese storyteller, director/producer/writer, Ousmane Sembene described as one of the most remarkable artists in the world and the "Father of African Cinema".
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?
To date the documentary has received a selection at the Sydney Film Festival and official selections at the Sundace Film Festival as well as Festival De Cannes.
Watch the trailer below
Photo &Video Credit: SEMBENE!