
Photo: Günter Prust / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ousmane Sembène earns the title "father of African cinema" in full, and I find his career genuinely moving. A Senegalese filmmaker who trained in Moscow, he chose to tell his own people's stories in their own languages, confronting colonial wounds and entrenched custom in films like Black Girl, Xala and Moolaadé. His was never escapist work; it was cinema with a conscience. The honors he gathered, from the Legion of Honour to the Carrosse d'or, only confirm what the films already prove. To me, no one better embodies the dignity of a people authoring their own narrative on screen.
Overview
Ousmane Sembène (French: [usman sɑ̃bɛn]; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), 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".
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ousmane Sembène
- Name (Japanese)
- センベーヌ・ウスマン
- Reading
- せんべーぬ・うすまん
- Born
- January 1, 1923 – June 9, 2007
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Boar
- Origin
- Ziguinchor, Ziguinchor Department, Senegal
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film director / film producer / actor / playwright / screenwriter
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2006 Officer of the Legion of Honour
- 2005 Carrosse d'or
- 1966 Prix Jean Vigo
- 2004 Un Certain Regard
- 1997 Grand prix littéraire en poésie d'Afrique noire
- 1966 Tanit d'or
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | God's Bits of Wood | — | |
| Notable work | Black Girl | — | |
| Notable work | Mandabi | — | |
| Notable work | Xala | — | |
| Notable work | Ceddo | — | |
| Notable work | Moolaadé | — |
6. Links
Film director — see all → · Film producer — see all → · More people from Senegal →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.