The Night School of the People
Kathleen Norris on SEMBÈNE AT ONE HUNDRED: “THE NIGHT SCHOOL OF THE PEOPLE”
2023 is the centenary of the birth of Ousmane Sembène (1923-2007, above) who has often been called “the father of African film.” The first African director to win international acclaim, he was unusual among African artists of the post-colonial era in that he came from the working class, and not the elite who attended schools focused on classical Western education instead of African culture. Sembène’s education came from working as a fisherman with his father and as one of the many African men drafted into the French army during World War II. In 1944 he was sent to Europe in a combat unit, an experience that later provided the background for his powerful film, Camp de Thiaroye (1987).
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