Film Screening and Discussion: La noire de... (Black Girl)

(Senegal-France, 1966) 55 minutes. Directed by Ousmane Sembène.

Introduced by Dr. Nathaniel Heggins Bryant (English).

Often hailed as one of the most important sub-Saharan African films ever made, La noire de… follows a young Senegalese woman named Diouana who travels from her home in Dakar to France because she aspires to become a worldly citizen and to escape a life limited by few jobs and resources. She soon realizes that despite Senegal’s recent independence, French attitudes about their former colony, rooted in racism, are alive and well. Winner of the 1966 Prix Jean Vigo, La noire de… was writer, novelist, director, and social activist Ousmane Sembène’s first feature-length film in his own storied filmmaking career, and it helped usher in a new era of anti-colonial and African-authored films across the continent beginning in the late 1960s.

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnN5Scc3ldY 

This film would be of particular interest to those studying or working in 20th century African history, film, and cultures; the politics of imperialism, colonialism, and anti-colonialism; critical race studies; multicultural and gender studies; 2oth century world cinema; and labor studies.

Co-sponsored the Humanities Center.