Introduction of Ceddo (Ousmane Sembene, Senegal, 1977) as part of Tigritudes at The Garden Cinema

Description

Tigritudes: A Pan-African Film Cycle
Tigritudes is a subjective and chronological anthology of Pan-African cinemas through 128 films from 42 countries, produced between 1956 (Sudan’s independence) and today. This season, including screenings at The Garden Cinema, BFI, and Tate Modern, is a selection from it.

Africa and its diaspora are rich in diverse and powerful film cultures, despite the heavy legacy of colonialism on the structuring of their cultural industries and the significant challenges faced by artists in producing cinema on the continent. Yet these cinemas remain largely unknown. Tigritudes offers a broad, accessible and eclectic programme to share the range, inventiveness and vitality of a moving-image culture afflicted by chronic international under-distribution. Across 68 years of production, this season articulates works that have continued to unfold with an unprecedented plurality of styles, themes and languages. The cycle opens up a vast field of reflection, traversing entire swathes of history and narratives, questioning reality and its representations, deconstructing the imaginaries surrounding it: aesthetic, ethical, and political. We are delighted to present in London a selection from this project, which has already screened in France and across the African continent.

From Curators and filmmakers Dyana Gaye and Valérie Osouf.

Ceddo
Part of Tigritudes
Ousmane Sembène, Senegal, 1977, 116m.
Our screening on Monday 17 June will be introduced by Estrella Sendra (KCL), programme consultant on our award winning 2023 Francophone West African season.



In precolonial Senegal, members of the Ceddo (or 'outsiders') kidnap Princess Dior Yacine (Tabata Ndiaye) after her father, the king, pledges loyalty to an ascendant Islamic faction that plans to convert the entire clan to its faith. Attempts to recapture her fail, provoking further division and eventual war between the animistic Ceddo and the fundamentalist Muslims, with Christian missionaries and slave traders from Europe also playing a role in the conflict. Banned in Senegal upon its release, Ceddo is an ambitious, multilayered epic that explores the combustible tensions among ancient tradition, religious colonisation, political expediency, and individual freedom.

Cast:
Mamadou Dioumé, Ousmane Sembène, Tabata Ndiaye

Period	17 Jun 2024
Held at	The Garden Cinema, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International