Ousmane Sembène

Directing

Ousmane Sembène

Born — Died

1923-01-01 — 2007-06-09

Place of birth

Ziguinchor, Casamance, Senegal

Known for

Directing

Credits

39 titles

Ousmane Sembène (January 1, 1923 — June 9, 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The Los Angeles Times considered him one of the greatest authors of Africa and he has often been called the "Father of African film."

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 3 titles

2010s · 3 titles

Behind the camera

Mandabi poster
7.1

A money order from a relative in Paris throws the life of a Senegalese family man out of order. He deals with corruption, greed, problematic family members, the locals and the changing from his traditional way of living to a more modern one.

Mandabi

1968

Mandabi poster
7.1

A money order from a relative in Paris throws the life of a Senegalese family man out of order. He deals with corruption, greed, problematic family members, the locals and the changing from his traditional way of living to a more modern one.

Mandabi

1968

Black Girl poster
7.3

Eager to find a better life abroad, a Senegalese woman becomes a mere governess to a family in southern France, suffering from discrimination and marginalization.

Black Girl

1966

Black Girl poster
7.3

Eager to find a better life abroad, a Senegalese woman becomes a mere governess to a family in southern France, suffering from discrimination and marginalization.

Black Girl

1966

Xala poster
6.8

A rich businessman in Senegal is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; the only cure is brutal public humiliation.

Xala

1975

Xala poster
6.8

A rich businessman in Senegal is cursed with crippling erectile dysfunction upon the day of his marriage to his third wife; the only cure is brutal public humiliation.

Xala

1975

Tauw poster
7.2

A young unemployed man fends off accusations of laziness and makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend who has been rejected by her family.

Tauw

1970

Tauw poster
7.2

A young unemployed man fends off accusations of laziness and makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend who has been rejected by her family.

Tauw

1970

Emitaï poster
7.3

As World War II rages in Europe, a conflict arises between the French and the Diola-speaking tribe of Africa, prompting the village women to organize their men to sit beneath a tree to pray.

Emitaï

1973

Emitaï poster
7.3

As World War II rages in Europe, a conflict arises between the French and the Diola-speaking tribe of Africa, prompting the village women to organize their men to sit beneath a tree to pray.

Emitaï

1973

Faat Kiné poster
6.7

A forty-year-old woman refuses to give into the stigma of unwed motherhood and climbs the ladder of success in a male dominated field.

Faat Kiné

2001

Faat Kiné poster
6.7

A forty-year-old woman refuses to give into the stigma of unwed motherhood and climbs the ladder of success in a male dominated field.

Faat Kiné

2001

Ceddo poster
6.7

The Ceddo people try to preserve their traditional African culture against the onslaught of Islam, Christianity, and the slave trade. When King Demba War sides with the Muslims, the Ceddo kidnap his daughter, Princess Dior Yacine, to protest their forcible conversion to Islam.

Ceddo

1978

Ceddo poster
6.7

The Ceddo people try to preserve their traditional African culture against the onslaught of Islam, Christianity, and the slave trade. When King Demba War sides with the Muslims, the Ceddo kidnap his daughter, Princess Dior Yacine, to protest their forcible conversion to Islam.

Ceddo

1978

Camp de Thiaroye poster
7.5

A Senegalese platoon of soldiers from the French Free Army return from combat and are temporarily held in a military encampment with barbed wire fences and guard towers in the desert. Among them are charismatic Sergeant Diatta, educated in Paris and has a French wife and child, and Pays, a soldier left in a state of shock who can only communicate in guttural screams and grunts.

Camp de Thiaroye

1988

Camp de Thiaroye poster
7.5

A Senegalese platoon of soldiers from the French Free Army return from combat and are temporarily held in a military encampment with barbed wire fences and guard towers in the desert. Among them are charismatic Sergeant Diatta, educated in Paris and has a French wife and child, and Pays, a soldier left in a state of shock who can only communicate in guttural screams and grunts.

Camp de Thiaroye

1988

Moolaadé poster
7.2

When a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.

Moolaadé

2004

Moolaadé poster
7.2

When a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.

Moolaadé

2004

Moolaadé poster
7.2

When a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.

Moolaadé

2004

The Wagoner poster
6.8

A cart-taxi driver goes to the city to make a living, but out of sympathy with other poverty-stricken people, he works for free and goes hungry himself.

The Wagoner

1963

The Wagoner poster
6.8

A cart-taxi driver goes to the city to make a living, but out of sympathy with other poverty-stricken people, he works for free and goes hungry himself.

The Wagoner

1963

The Wagoner poster
6.8

A cart-taxi driver goes to the city to make a living, but out of sympathy with other poverty-stricken people, he works for free and goes hungry himself.

The Wagoner

1963

Guelwaar poster
6.9

As funeral preparations begin for Pierre Henri 'Guelwaar' Thioune, rumour spreads that his death may have been an assassination in retaliation for his radical political beliefs and constant criticism of the current regime. When the heroic Guelwaar's cadaver is stolen, his Francophile son, Barthelemy, contacts the authorities. As Detective Gora begrudgingly investigates, he discovers that Guelwaar was a complicated man guilty of his own share of sins.

Guelwaar

1993

Guelwaar poster
6.9

As funeral preparations begin for Pierre Henri 'Guelwaar' Thioune, rumour spreads that his death may have been an assassination in retaliation for his radical political beliefs and constant criticism of the current regime. When the heroic Guelwaar's cadaver is stolen, his Francophile son, Barthelemy, contacts the authorities. As Detective Gora begrudgingly investigates, he discovers that Guelwaar was a complicated man guilty of his own share of sins.

Guelwaar

1993

Guelwaar poster
6.9

As funeral preparations begin for Pierre Henri 'Guelwaar' Thioune, rumour spreads that his death may have been an assassination in retaliation for his radical political beliefs and constant criticism of the current regime. When the heroic Guelwaar's cadaver is stolen, his Francophile son, Barthelemy, contacts the authorities. As Detective Gora begrudgingly investigates, he discovers that Guelwaar was a complicated man guilty of his own share of sins.

Guelwaar

1993

Niaye poster
7.3

Adapted from "Vehi-Ciosane ou Blanche-Genèse," this short drama portrays a Senegalese village thrown into crisis by the pregnancy of a young girl, revealing deeper patterns of moral and social breakdown.

Niaye

1964

Niaye poster
7.3

Adapted from "Vehi-Ciosane ou Blanche-Genèse," this short drama portrays a Senegalese village thrown into crisis by the pregnancy of a young girl, revealing deeper patterns of moral and social breakdown.

Niaye

1964

Niaye poster
7.3

Adapted from "Vehi-Ciosane ou Blanche-Genèse," this short drama portrays a Senegalese village thrown into crisis by the pregnancy of a young girl, revealing deeper patterns of moral and social breakdown.

Niaye

1964