Ousmane Sembene (left) and Samba Gadjigo in a screengrab from the documentary “Sembene!”
The third instalment of Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) online Film Chat will focus on ‘Sembene!’ - a 2015 documentary film on the inspiring story of the “father of African cinema.” “Our upcoming Film Chat celebrates the father of African cinema: Ousmane Sembene whose career has been brilliantly captured by Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman in their acclaimed doc ‘Sembene!’,” DFI announced on its social media accounts on Wednesday. The film chat, which will be held via Zoom on Monday at 7pm, is open to the public. Those who wish to join the indepth discussion should watch the film first via Amazon Prime, iTunes or Vimeo On Demand, and register on DFI’s website.
DFI said the chat will have as its special guest Rooney Elmi, a culture writer, documentary producer, and film programmer with a hyperfocus on nonfiction cinema. Elmi is the co-founder of No Evil Eye Cinema which curates an eclectic mix of indie films and educational workshops. ‘Sembene!’ tells the true story of Ousmane Sembene, a self-taught novelist and filmmaker considered the “father of African cinema” who fought, against enormous odds, a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give African stories to Africans.
The film is told through the experiences of his colleague and biographer Samba Gadjigo, using rare archival footage and more than 100 hours of exclusive materials. The online discussion on ‘Sembene!’ will be at the heart of DFI’s third Film Chat series which delve into “Visions of Power” which explores how cinema can be a catalyst for change. It explores a film selection which “presents what Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène suggests is the potential of cinema as the most accessible art form and tool for activism.” Film Chat is one in a series of online initiatives launched by DFI to engage filmmakers and cinephiles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The monthly Film Chat focuses on a thought-provoking film which is watched first before its various elements are discussed virtually, from plot, character development and scene analysis to broader issues such as cinema history and filmmaking techniques. The first Film Chat held on May 11 focused on Hayao Miyazaki’s critically acclaimed film “The Wind Rises.” It was followed on June 11 by a discussion on another critically acclaimed film “Theeb” - the first Jordanian film nominated at the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film category.
