It was a story of a girl, diouna, who leaves his own family to become a housemaid in antibes, france, where she commits suicide. Ousmane sembene was a remarkable anomaly among francophone african writers. Black girl is a 1966 frenchsenegalese film by writerdirector ousmane sembene, starring mbissine therese diop. Sembenes novelistic debut, le docker noir, largely mirrors his own personal experience as a docker in marseilles.
Sembenes roots were not, as might be expected, in the educated elite. Now the film has been restored under the auspices of the films foundation world cinema project. After working as a mechanic and bricklayer, he joined the free french forces in 1942. Ousmane sembenes black girl turns 50 the new york times. Ousmane sembene 1966 the criterion collection ousmane sembene was a senegalese author who turned to filmmaking because he wanted to reach a wider audience than the few welltodos who read his books. Black girl by ousmane sembene senegal 1966, 59 min in french with english subtitles diouana mbissine therese diop travels from newly independent senegal to work for a french couple in antibes. Unlike his fellow countryman leopold senghor, for example, one of the select few during the colonial period who rose. Black girl in 1966, shot in black and white, is a searing account of the isolation of a young black domestic servant working in antibes, and the first.
Pdf ousmane sembene and the politics of culture free books. To think that this was a man who had stopped school in 6eme, and written one of the most interesting books in africa gods bits of wood. Ousmane sembene 1 january 1923 or 8 january 1923 9 june 2007, often credited in the french style as sembene ousmane in articles and reference works, was a senegalese film director, producer and writer. Technically flawed, it is nevertheless a cultural and cinematographic achievement, and it marks an important date in the history of african cinema. This is a man who fought injustice, and fought for equality. Une jeune bonne senegalaise suit ses patrons francais retournant dans leur pays, a antibes. The couple of times that i was able to see the film it was on a rather worn 16mm print. Ils evoquent son dernier film intitule guelwaar sorti en 1992, dont lintrigue est inspiree dun fait divers reel survenu au senegal. To think that this man became the father of african cinema is impressive. Mbissine therese diop, anne marie jelinek, robert fontaine, momar nar sene, ibrahima boy in his pioneering 1966 film, black girl, the great senegalese author.