Ousmane Sembène
1 January 1923 – 9 June 2007
Ousmane Sembène was a Senegalese film director, producer, and writer often called the 'father of African cinema.' Largely self-taught, he used novels and films such as Black Girl, Xala, and Moolaadé to critique colonialism, corruption, and social injustice in postcolonial Africa.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Ousmane Sembène.
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- Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) Overlapped 84 years →
- Chen-Ning Yang (1922–2025) Overlapped 84 years →
- Dorothy Vaughan (1910–2008) Overlapped 84 years →
- François Jacob (1920–2013) Overlapped 84 years →
- Helmut Schmidt (1918–2015) Overlapped 84 years →
Life events
Sembène was born in the Casamance region of French colonial Senegal.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe was drafted as a tirailleur sénégalais during the war.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSembène became a labor activist and began writing while working on the docks in France.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHis acclaimed novel depicted a railway workers' strike in colonial West Africa.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe trained at the Gorky Film Studio, deciding cinema could reach a wider African audience than novels.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgOften considered the first feature film by a sub-Saharan African director, it won international awards.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHis satire of the postcolonial African bourgeoisie became one of his best-known films.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHis final film, condemning female genital mutilation, won a prize at Cannes.
Source: en.wikipedia.org