Ousmane Sembène

This chapter is an interview with the African novelist and filmmaker, Senegal’s Ousmane Sembéne. He speaks of his five volatile films which often are banned in Africa, typically through pressure from the French government. He decided to switch from novels to films to reach 80% of Africans who are illiterate. Every night, he can fill theaters in many African countries because of the demand for indigenous cinema. He is among about twenty filmmakers in Senegal who struggle to finance and distribute movies. Sembéne discusses his own works including Mandabi, the first film shot completely in the Wolof language. Mandabi is set in the city. Sembéne also made Emitai, a political tale of how the French colonialists demanded rice from rural Africans.