The Legacy of Ousmane Sembène & Paulin S. Vieyra is a film series which celebrates the crucial role these two pioneers played in the formation of early African cinemas. In collaboration with Bloomington’s Buskirk-Chumley Theater, every Thursday in May, the public will be invited to view African films at the BCT and to participate in discussions with film critics, some of the filmmakers’ collaborators, witnesses from the period, and African Film specialists. This public-facing event series will bring together both the Indiana University and Bloomington communities to engage in discussions of film, African cultures, the French-speaking world, and postcolonial history. It will also act as a kick-off event for the Collections of Sembène and Vieyra Archival Workshop which will bring an international cohort of scholars to the Indiana University campus in Summer 2025.
This series is organized by the Early African Cinemas Lab and sponsored by the Public Arts and Humanities Project, IU Department of French and Italian & the African Studies Program.
Series:
Thurs, 5/1 7pm
Thurs, 5/8 7pm
Thurs, 5/15 7pm
Thurs, 5/22 7pm
Content Warning:
The first screening on May 1st will include 10 minutes of clips from a film that depict the racist tropes of Africans that Vieyra & Sembène set out to counteract through their own works. While the remaining films engage in critiques of colonialism and racism, the films themselves are appropriate for those 12 and older.
There will be a short Q&A after the film.
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