Sembene!

Name: Sembene!
Genre: Biography, History, Documentary
Released: November 6, 2015
Duration: 82 min
Rating: 68

2015

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Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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Sembene!

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Movie Details & Credits

Kino Lorber | Release Date: November 6, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout from Senegal, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. Sembene! tells the unbelievable true story of the father of African cinema, the self- taught novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a 50-year battle to return AfricanIn 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a dockworker and fifth-grade dropout from Senegal, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. Sembene! tells the unbelievable true story of the father of African cinema, the self- taught novelist and filmmaker who fought, against enormous odds, a 50-year battle to return African stories to Africans. Sembene! is told through the experiences of the man who knew him best, colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and more than 100 hours of exclusive materials. A true-life epic, Sembene! follows an ordinary man who transforms himself into a fearless spokesperson for the marginalized, becoming a hero to millions. After a startling fall from grace, can Sembene reinvent himself once more? [Kino Lorber]… Expand

Director: Jason Silverman and Samba Gadjigo

Genre(s): Biography, History, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 82 min

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Critic Reviews

Michael Rechtshaffen

Nov 28, 2015

A richly crafted documentary that serves as an enlightening tribute to the filmmaker who masterfully tapped into the medium's wide-reaching socio-political potential. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Matt Zoller Seitz

Nov 12, 2015

Sembene! is most illuminating when it is simply showing us clips from the director's features and behind-the-scenes or "making of" footage, with very little in the way of verbal setup, and then letting them play out. Read full review

Vanessa H. Larson

Nov 19, 2015

For a filmmaker who believed in giving Africans their own voice, it seems appropriate to offer such an unvarnished portrait. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

Nov 2, 2015

Academic in its approach but very informative as well as surprising in the degree to which it addresses the man's foibles and ethical shortcomings, the film turns a welcome spotlight on a resourceful and singular artist who was forced to do everything from scratch in the absence of any local industry infrastructure. Read full review

Alan Scherstuhl

Nov 3, 2015

Jason Silverman and Samba Gadjigo's heartfelt doc is rich in footage and access. Read full review

Clayton Dillard

Nov 2, 2015

The film unfolds as a kind, politically soft offering of what lies beneath both Sembène's films and the man himself. Read full review

Nicolas Rapold

Nov 6, 2015

Mr. Sembène was an inspiration; as a film, Sembène! is something less than that, petering out as it goes on, but at least offering a fair-minded tribute to a master. Read full review

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