Samba Gadjigo (born 12 October 1954), is a
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
ese
filmmaker and writer.
He is most notable as the director of critically acclaimed film ''Sembene!''.
Personal life
He was born on 12 October 1954 in
Kidira
Kidira is a town and commune in Tambacounda Region of eastern Senegal, lying near the Malian border. Its population in 2013 was about 10,000.
Transport
It is an important transport hub and lies on the N1 and N2 roads, the Dakar – Bamako r ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
. He graduated from the
University of Dakar and Ecole Normale Supérieure de Dakar. Then he received his PhD from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
. He currently works as the Professor of French in
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
,
since 1986.
Career
In 2015, he directed the film ''
Sembene!
''Sembene!'' is a 2015 documentary film focusing on the life of Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène, who is considered to be the father of African cinema. It is co-directed by Samba Gadjigo and Jason Silverman. The film's world premiere took pl ...
'' along with Jason Silverman. The film was based on the life of Senegalese filmmaker
Ousmane Sembène
Ousmane Sembène (; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The ''Los Angeles Times'' consider ...
often known as the father of
African cinema
Cinema of Africa is both the history and present of the making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the early 20th century, when film reels w ...
. The film had its first public screening at
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
in Utah.
The film received critical acclaim and won several awards and accolades at international film festivals. The film was a finalist for the Camera d’Or in the 2015
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
as well as won the Jury Prize at the 2016
Luxor African Film Festival. It also won the Prix de la Jeuness at the 2017 Escales Documentaires de Libreville and then won the Paul Robeson Prize at the 2016 Newark Black Film Festival. The film later received the Prize for Best Documentary at the Emerge Film Festival.
In 2016, Gadjigo received the Faculty Award for Scholarship. Apart from filmmaking, he is also a prolific author and contributed with ''African Cinema and Human Rights'', ''Research in African Literatures'', and ''Contributions in Black Studies''.
In March 2016, he was honored with Meribeth E. Cameron Faculty Award for Scholarship from Mount Holyoke College.
Filmography
See also
*
Cinema of Africa
Cinema of Africa is both the History of film, history and present of the Filmmaking, making or screening of films on the African continent, and also refers to the persons involved in this form of audiovisual culture. It dates back to the early 20t ...
References
External links
*
Giving papers in France and SenegalFilm Screening: SEMBENE! The Inspiring Story of the Father of African Cinema with Director Samba Gadjigo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadjigo, Samba
Living people
Senegalese film directors
Senegalese academics
21st-century Senegalese writers
Senegalese film producers
1954 births
Mount Holyoke College faculty