African films, alhamdulilay!!

This is a really special chance to see some films by Ousmane Sembene, one of the most brilliant storytellers, artists, and activists of the 20th century. They're all really good and loaded with dark humor, satire, subversion, and some pretty raw commentary on religion, neocolonialism, the ineptitude of and corruption within third world bureaucracies, even female circumcision. (They're juicy) Faat Kiné is great, all about changing roles of women in Senegalese urban society. So bummed out I'm missing this :(
PS, Brookline booksmith also has a couple African cinematic gems downstairs .... You can also find Sembene films at the BU Krasker film library.

Where: Harvard Film Archives, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St. Cambridge
When: September 7th - 10th
Tell me more!!: 617 495-4700 or http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/general_info.html

"Ousmane Sembene – In Memoriam
A former bricklayer and soldier turned trade union organizer, Ousmane Sembene is widely recognized today as one of the most prolific African writers and film makers. But Sembene’s significance moves beyond the question of his productivity. He is celebrated today throughout Africa and around the world as the first African creative artist with a “virginal faith” in the redemptive and galvanizing power of art and as a filmmaker who used the barrel of the camera to restore the African self-image.

The recipient of many honors throughout his career, Ousmane Sembene, who died in June at 84, will leave his mark on world cultural history as one of the most talented storytellers of his time and as a rare and solitary African revolutionary who understood the political nature of narratives, their power in shaping our past, our present, and our future. He devoted his life to giving voice to a voiceless continent through the production of narratives countering dominant, hegemonic discourses (political and religious) of the African Islamic and postcolonial elite. Sembene wrote books and made films not for profit but for man’s sake because he believes man is culture." -- Samba Gadjigo, Professor of French, Mount Holyoke College