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African film pioneer dies
10/06/2007 18:21 - (SA)
Dakar - The Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, regarded as one of the pioneers of African cinema, has died at his home at the age of 84.
He had been ill since December.
Born into a fisherman's family in the southern region of Casamance in 1923, he began his film-making career in 1963 with "Borom Sarret," a short black-and-white production that tells the story of a poor cart-driver.
He made 10 films in all. His first full-length film, "The Black Girl from..." is seen as Africa's first full-length feature.
One of his last films "Moolade" was a denunciation of female genital mutilation and won him an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
He also won two prizes at the Venice Film Festival - in 1968 and in 1988. The first was for "The Money Order", the second for "The Camp of Thiaroye" which recounts the violent repression by French troops of protests by Senegalese soldiers demanding their pay.
He was also a prolific writer and a co-founder of the Pan-African festival of film and television of Ouagadougou held every two years.
His funeral is due to take place on Monday.
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South Africa
