Camp de Thiaroye
Ousmane Sembène / SN, 1988 / 154 min.
One of the most powerful films about colonial racism during World War Two was banned for over a decade in France. Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1988.
Together with director Thierno Faty Sow, the legendary Ousmane Sembène revived a little-known, almost forgotten tragedy that occurred in Senegal immediately after World War Two. They wanted to correct history with this rich, enraging work. Camp de Thiaroye describes the run-up to the Thiaroye massacre, a horrifying event during which the French murdered hundreds of West African soldiers after their return from serving in Europe. The reason? They demanded the wages they were entitled to and still hadn’t received.
Camp de Thiaroye will be introduced by Maurice San-A-Jong, a historian specializing in colonial history, particularly from the perspective of the colonized. This screening is organized in cooperation with Africadelic, a non-profit organization committed to the programming and promotion of African and African diasporic cultural creativity, diversity and activism in the Netherlands.
Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with the Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Senegalese Ministry of Culture and Historical Heritage. Restoration funded by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers and UNESCO – in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna – to help locate, restore, and disseminate African cinema.
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Details
Director
Ousmane Sembène
Production year
1988
Country
SN
Original title
Camp de Thiaroye
Length
154 min.
Language
French, English, Wolof, German
Subtitles
ENG
Format
DCP
Part of
Restored & Unseen
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