Ousmane Sembène: The Making of a Militant Artist

by Samba Gadjigo

Samba Gadjigo presents a unique personal portrait and intellectual history of novelist and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène. Though Sembène has persistently deflected attention away from his personality, his life, and his past, Gadjigo has had unprecedented access to the artist and his family. This book is the first comprehensive biography of Sembène and contributes a critical appraisal of his life and art in the context of the political and social influences on his work. Beginning with Sembène's life in Casamance, Senegal, and ending with his militant career as a dockworker in Marseilles, Gadjigo places Sembène into the context of African colonial and postcolonial culture and charts his achievements in film and literature. This landmark book reveals the inner workings of one of Africa's most distinguished and controversial figures.

Genres: Film

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Malpal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, well-paced review of a super interesting man’s life. I wanted an overview of Ousmane, a medium-sized read with references to his work and ideology, this did it for me. It focuses on his early life, but a great lead-in before diving into his novels and films. I highly recommend for anyone in search of more decolonial artists and thinkers, especially less known ones.

[ISRA · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5.
Concise and incredibly illuminating of the filmmaker’s cultural background, upbringing, outlook, influence, & eventual artistic intentions.

I withhold the full 5 stars because of the final 2 chapters political and name dropping heaviness. The acronyms of the groups ruined sentences and the list like sentences of other activists names was unpleasant to read.

[Margrit Belfi]

De zwarte dokwerker en niiwam in mijn boekenkast