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27 August 2017: Moolaadé

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Moolaadé
Ousmane Sembène
2004 | Colour | 120 min | 35mm

“Winner of the 2004 Un Certain Regard Award in Cannes, Sembène’s last film delivers an open attack on the tradition of female circumcision still practiced in Muslim and Christian communities in East and West Africa. A wonderful testament to Sembène’s belief in the cinema as the most effective means of social change in Africa, Moolaadé describes the brutal impact of circumcision on adolescent subjects and the ostracisation suffered by the mothers and fathers who resist the violent practice. Moolaadé was intended to be the second film in a trilogy designed to honor the lives of African women, who Sembène referred to as the “heroines of everyday life.”” – Harvard Film Archive


Part of our season on Ousmane Sembène