Best Senegalese movies

Three mercenaries extracting a druglord out of Guinea-Bissau are forced to hide in the mystical region of Saloum, Senegal.

Mory, a cowherd, and Anta, a university student, try to make money in order to go to Paris and leave their boring past behind.

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.

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.

In a rural African village poised at the outer edge of the modern world, a teenage girl hatches a secret plan to rescue her 11-year-old sister from an arranged marriage.

Tokara wants to marry his cousin, the beautiful Nafi, bringing their fathers into conflict with one another. The youngest brother is a clergyman, while the other is a candidate for Mayor of the small town in Senegal. The struggle seems to be all about the children, but gradually it transpires that the children are pawns in a bitter dispute. Can their family ties help them overcome these ideological differences?

Meet Ousmane Sembene, the African freedom fighter who used stories as his weapon.

This sweet musical takes us on a cross-country trip through Senegal, from Dakar to Saint Louis in a battered taxi, as passengers sing their stories.

An unusual Tangana tenant observes in his mysterious restaurant, the incessant ballet of the beings that populate the city of Dakar.

Fatima is a little girl of eight years. By opening and closing the refrigerator, she wonders if the light stays on when the door closes...

When Serigne Ibra finally decides to get married, he declares that his future bride must not only be a ravishing beauty, but also must not have any kind of scar or blemish on her body.

A penniless, fast-thinking musician buys a lottery ticket which he glues to his back door, in hopes of eventually retrieving his instrument from his exasperating landlady. —but the ticket wins...

Two young Senegalese boys are determined to see one last film at the town movie theater before it closes forever. When they fall short of their goal, Baba’s loyalty to Sembene will be tested.

Sometimes distasteful practices are most effectively criticized with a good sense of humor. Meet Modou, a young, courageous and determined talibé - a pupil in a Koranic school - who manages to escape from his corrupt and abusive teacher to find a better life in contemporary Dakar, Senegal.

Directed by Ben Diogaye Beye.

Badou Boy, a cheeky young man, travels through the streets of Dakar on the city buses and experiences adventures.

Follows the story of two young boys and their adventure through the streets of Africa.

A tale of growing up in 1960s Senegal. Bacc narrates his early years of living in Popenguine, a town divided by culture and musical tastes.

Four junkyard kids go into town looking for something to cure their hero, Grand Batche. On the way, they come across various symbols of society: the cop, the mayor, the postman, the madman, the artist...

Tamsir returns to Senegal after 17 years in Europe. His uncle gives him a patronage job in Dakar, virtually without duties. He visits his family's village to see his parents, and there he meets the beautiful Lissa. Tamsir espouses traditional ways, as does Lissa, but when her parents agree to marry her off to a corrupt and well-spoken member of parliament, Tamsir and Lissa dishonor the family and she becomes pregnant. The MP's response, his and Tasmir's uncle's plan to capture the village farmland, the reactions of Lissa's parents, who are strict followers of Islam, the disaffection of Dakar youth, and the dreams of a village mechanic to find "Saaraba" (Utopia) complete the story.

Ngor is a young man living in a Senegalese village who wishes to marry Coumba. Ongoing drought in the village has affected its crop of groundnuts and as a result, Ngor cannot afford the bride price for Coumba. He goes to Senegal's capital city, Dakar, to try to earn more money and is exploited there. He returns to the villagers and shares his experiences of the city with the other men. The story, which shows the daily lives of the villagers, is told in the form of a letter to a friend from a villager, voiced by Faye.

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

A fictional documentary that portrays the city of Dakar, Senegal, as we hear the conversation between a Senegalese man (the director, Djibril Diop Mambéty) and a French woman, Inge Hirschnitz. As we travel through the city in a picturesque horse drawn wagon, we chaotically rush into this and that popular neighborhood of the capital, discovering contrast after contrast: A small African community waiting at the Church's door, Muslims praying on the sidewalk, the Rococo architecture of the Government buildings, the modest stores of the craftsmen near the main market.

A young fisherman dreams of motorizing his boat to make his work easier. His dream becomes reality, thanks to his courage and his determination but causes conflict between traditional values and the modern notion of progress.

After winning a scholarship to study in France, a young Senegalese man returns home and questions his experience and his future, with honesty, courage and humor.

Idrissa lives in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. As a result of budgetary restrictions imposed by the IMF, then headed by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, he lost his job as a civil servant. Since then, Idrissa has been looking for work, without success. His pride as an African man is all the more affected by the fact that he is now entirely dependent on his wife, Viviane, who somehow manages to support the family through her medical practice. Aminata (Idrissa and Viviane’s daughter) and Moussa, two young students in love with each other, also see their lives disrupted by the economic situation imposed on the country. After yet another humiliation, Idrissa, who holds Strauss-Kahn responsible for his misfortune, decides to go and see a marabout to prepare his revenge…

A Senegalese man living in Paris with his French wife and children receives a letter from his father back home saying he has arranged for him to take a second wife. The man's indecision outrages his French wife and leads to the end of his marriage, his return to Senegal and his reflection about how his life has ended up.

Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty, one of the greatest figures in all of African film, died in 1998. In this behind-the-scenes documentary, shot during the making of his final work, The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun / La petite vendeuse de soleil, Mambéty speaks with his technicians, prepares the actors, talks with his young star, and, in voiceover, shares his thoughts on cinema and life.Mambéty doesn't differ significantly from the stock "behind-the-scenes" documentaries that adorn most DVDs nowadays, except that Mambéty's films have scenes you actually want to be taken behind. Because of the kind of attention that gets paid to African cinema, there's an initial intrigue to Mambéty, but that interest is sustained by Mambéty's own lyrical insights into his aesthetics.

The game of the false lion is a custom dating back more than a century. It is believed that only the people who have been touched by the lion can identify with it and be subject to the influence of its behaviour. Pierre N'Gom, with this son, the lion cub, are the last descendants of a family of false lions. In the chaos of the popular celebration, and to the endless rhythm of drums, the lion and the cub attack the public to give vent to their aggressiveness. The false lion can be tamed only by the eloquence of the word.

Popular comedy on traditional society and pamphlet against maraboutism. Two stories follow each other: a young typist is raped by a marabout who will not be worried, while a young man, opposed to the laxity of the brotherhoods of the administration, resists multiple solicitudes.

A woman wakes up in the grips of a nightmare: a spirit has possessed her. To be cured, she has to go to a healer who practises exorcisms. With an ethnological slant, the film concentrates on the healing ceremony, the N'Doep.

The president of an African country is closely allied with European entrepreneurs for his own benefit and theirs. The sky falls on their heads when a political essay on "The Political Structures of Traditional Power" is published. To make matters worse, the military gets involved. The president, whose party ruled unchallenged (single-party system), finds himself under house arrest.

The traditional struggle, known as Lamb in Wolof, which recalls the Greco-Roman struggle, is a popular national sport in Senegal. It has special rules and very strict. Every spectator can bet on his favorite wrestler in a festive atmosphere. The Dakar Arena serves as a showcase for the battles in the film.

During an interview with the filmmaker Paulin Vieyra, the painter Iba Ndiaye recalls key moments of his life. He begins with his childhood in Senegal and his studies at the Lycee Faidherbe in St. Louis of Senegal, where he was drawn to design and graphic arts. African nature and its sweeping horizons remain however his main sources of inspiration.

Une nation est née depicts the progression of Senegal from colonization to sovereignty, shown allegorically through scenes of dance and celebrations of its newly-reclaimed independence.

Birago Diop appears as the pioneer of African letters. He knew the long journey of poets of blackness from the 30s. But, while young writers Antillean and African chose poetry to express the search for their identity, Birago Diop was located from the beginning of his work at the heart of the African literary world, adopting as a mode of expression the tale and the novel. Birago Diop evokes his memories: coming from the old Saint-Louisian bourgeoisie, he made his classes at Faidherbe high school, the first high school of West Africa, before coming to France to study veterinary medicine, an opportunity for him to participate in the first one. core of African Presence. His works are now on the curriculum of high schools in Senegal.

Senegalese documentary about the country's most famous film-maker - Ousmane Sembène. The groundbreaking director explains his philosophy, politics and hopes for the future of African cinema.

Arguably the first African film made that engages the topic of slavery. African film pioneer Mahama Traore (more commonly referred to as Johnson), offers an uncompromising narrative that seeks to address totality of the African slave narrative.

Each year, the pilgrimage of the Muslim brotherhood of the Mourides takes place in Touba. From all over Senegal (and even from all over the world) pilgrims flock to take part in this religious event which will last three days and two nights. Grand Magal in Touba evokes the black Islam, promotes peace and tolerance, born of syncretism between Islam and the blackness of the Sufi brotherhoods in Senegal.

The theme of the rural exodus has inspired many African authors. In the past, by tradition, the young peasant went abroad temporarily to earn the money needed to settle in the village. Now, he leaves the countryside with no idea of ​​returning, convinced that he will find all the means to make his fortune in these mirage cities. Issa, in turn, takes the road to the capital. Before leaving, Aminata slips a bronze bracelet on her arm as a token of loyalty and love. Then begins for Issa the inexorable chain of disillusions, bad luck, misunderstandings

This film poses the problem of the emancipation of women in Senegal through the intersecting story of three young girls from the same family. Raised differently, they will not meet the same fate.

This revealing documentary offers a rare view of daily life in West Africa. Shot in Senegal, Selbe focuses on the social role and economic responsibility of women in African society. Because men often leave their communities to earn money in the city, women are left with sole responsibility for their families. Through the character of Selbe we observe how one woman's personal struggle reflects the broader issues faced by many women in developing countries.

Tells the story of an official that misappropriates public funds to seduce a courtesan.

Sindiely tells the story of a greedy father wishing to marry his daughter to a successful fabric merchant, despite her love for another young man. The hostility of the family makes the father yield to his daughter’s wishes, allowing for the young couple to wed.

Short directed by Momar Thiam.

A 53-year-old civil servant, who has been refused promotion, finds himself forced to resume studies with the help of his son in order to obtain the necessary diploma.

Idrissa is a rebellious little boy who drops out of school and joins a gang of hooligans that live on the beaches of Dakar. He gradually becomes detached from his family and adopted by his new friends who initiate him into the art of theft and the pleasures of yamba, marijuana.

A hunter dies in a lion's jaws and leaves a wife and two children. The elder child, who is now the only man around the house, is called the little husband. Because of this nickname, he becomes the laughingstock of all the children in the village. Desperate, the child runs away and drowns in the sea. His mother and sister will follow the same fate. The film is based on a story by Birago Diop.

A young girl bolts away during a traditional but painful lip - tatooing ceremony, incurring the mockery of the villagers and the anger of her parents .

Following a misunderstanding, a traveler is mistaken for an important official on an inspection tour. Nothing will be spared to coax him into turning a blind eye to the prevarications: embezzlement, exactions of all kinds practiced by the local notables.

The amorous adventures of Karim, a young Senegalese, divided between the duties of traditional society and the temptations of the West

The drought forces a peasant couple to go to the city, where they meet people's indifference. Only a trade unionist will offer them any help.

Promotional newsreel of Dakar, selected to host the first edition of the World Festival of Black Arts. The report features the history of the city, its architectural and commercial evolution, its air and maritime connections, its natural beauty, hotels and tourist attractions. Organised by Léopold Sédar Senghor on the initiative of the magazine “Présence Africaine” and the African Cultural Society, it was an unprecedented event in the cultural history of the African continent. The first festival was held in Dakar on 1-24 April 1966. Participants included André Malraux, Aimé Césaire, Jean Price-Mars, Duke Ellington, Joséphine Baker, Langston Hughes, Aminata Fall, Robert Hayden and many others. All the arts were represented: literature, music, dance, film and visual arts.