SEMBÈNE!

Samba Gadjigo, professor of African Cinema and biographer of Ousmane Sembène, spoke at assembly Friday to talk about his Sundance Film Festival documentary, “Sembène!” His film details the life and legacy of “the father of African cinema,” Sembène. Besides detailing his early life in Senegal, Gadjigo spent his time here screening his documentary for more than a hundred eager students and staff later that night.

The event was planned and executed by French instructor Amadou Talla, a friend and former student of Gadjigo. He said the main goal of the event was to “raise awareness about the life and work of novelist, activist and filmmaker Sembène, whose films brought issues of social justice in Africa to the table.”

First proposed in July, the idea was approved with the other faculty in the Modern Language Department and then later with the Dean of Faculty, Ethan Shapiro and Assistant Principal, Ronald Kim. Soon after its conception, the plan to invite Gadjigo was already in motion. Talla thought the whole experience would be a perfect way to broaden the horizons of the Exeter community, while also sharing something interesting and meaningful to him. As the plans were finalized, Talla and Assembly coordinator Kathleen Brownback were excited so see how the event would be received by the community.

At the assembly, Gadjigo explained and showed the power of storytelling by sharing his own autobiographical narrative, comparing his story to the stories that Sembène captured on film. Gadjigo’s way of delivering his autobiographical narrative captured the audience and helped launch a school reflection on the transformative power of personal stories. For many members of the audience, however, the assembly was just a precursor to the showing of Gadjigo’s biographical movie.

http://theexonian.com/2016/01/31/exonian-video-interview-with-samba-gadjigo-professor-and-filmmaker/

The biographical film, “Sembène!” was shown the night after the original assembly and was “extremely well-received,” according to Talla said. The event took place in the Forum, which Talla and Gadjigo thought would be enough room to safely and comfortably seat everyone interested, but the turnout from both students and staff was much more than expected, resulting in a number of people having to sit on the floor.

Despite the lack of room, which the event coordinators said could’ve been remedied by having two showing times, the screening of the film was a success. Gadjigo was most impressed by the level of engagement that students and faculty showed during the question-and-answer session after the movie, and many students who attended agreed that they were excited to experience something “totally different from the recent events of the year.”

This event boasted a large attendance and was an opportunity for Exonians to encounter ideas and stories from way outside the “Exeter bubble.” Talla said, “I think this was an opportunity for us to bring more global awareness to our campus and create opportunities for students to broaden their horizon and find new ways of making a difference in the world by starting with our own community.” Since he found great value in this event, Talla hoped that more of these types of experiences will be available to the Exeter community in the future with an even better and larger reception.

“Opportunities such as these could help us connect goodness and knowledge. By educating ourselves on global issues we create possibilities for ourselves and the members of our community to become agents of change. With knowledge, inspiration and determination we can then take action and make a difference in people’s lives,” said Talla.