Mandabi (Le Mandat) + Q&A 1968

Shot primarily in Wolof, this second feature by Ousmane Sembène was the first ever made in an African language—a major step toward the realisation of the trailblazing Senegalese filmmaker’s dream of creating a cinema by, about, and for the inhabitants of his home continent.

After unemployed Ibrahima Dieng receives a money order from a nephew who works in Paris, news of his windfall quickly spreads among his neighbours, who flock to him for loans even as his attempts to cash the order are stymied in a maze of bureaucratic obstacles. Unfortunately, he has no identity card which will enable him to cash the check. All part of his nephew's plan to avoid paying a long-standing debt. One of Sembène’s funniest films, Mandabi—an adaptation of a novella by the director himself—is a bitterly ironic depiction of a society scarred by colonialism and plagued by corruption, greed, and poverty. 

The in-person screening will be followed by a Q&A in partnership with Black Professionals Scotland. The guest speakers will be Enoch Adeyemi (ACCA) and Stephen Babatunde (CeMAP) in conversation with Africa in Motion festival director Liz Chege.