Who Really Was the Father Of African Cinema? — Ousmane Sembène, By His Son Alain

Some filmmakers don’t just make great films, they change who cinema is for.

60 years ago, Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl (La Noire de…) announced a new cinematic voice to the world. Through the story of a young Senegalese woman working for a French family, Sembène exposed the brutal realities of colonialism while proving that African stories could—and should—be told on their own terms.

To mark the film’s 60th anniversary, producer Elliot Bloom speaks with Alain Sembène, the filmmaker’s son, about the remarkable life and philosophy behind one of cinema’s true pioneers.

Together, they discuss why Sembène turned from literature to filmmaking, why he believed cinema could become “the people’s night school,” and how he dedicated his career to challenging audiences to question the systems that shape their lives.

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A LAB111 production. Edited and produced by Elliot Bloom, co-produced by Laura Gommans. Music by Hugo Emmerzael. Artwork by Studio FFF.