''Contras'city'' is a
Senegal
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
ese 1968 short documentary film.
Synopsis
A fictional documentary that portrays the city of
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
, Senegal, as we hear the conversation between a Senegalese man (the director,
Djibril Diop Mambéty
Djibril Diop Mambéty (January 23, 1945 – July 23, 1998) was a Senegalese film director, actor, orator, composer and poet. Though he made only five feature films and two short documentary films, they received international acclaim for their ...
) and a French woman, Inge Hirschnitz. As we travel through the city in a picturesque horse-drawn wagon, we chaotically rush into this and that popular neighborhood of the capital, discovering contrast after contrast: A small African community waiting at the Church's door, Muslims praying on the sidewalk, the
Rococo architecture
Rococo architecture, prevalent during the reign of Louis XV in France from 1715 to 1774, is an exceptionally ornamental and exuberant architectural style characterized by the use of rocaille motifs such as shells, curves, Mascaron (architecture), ...
of the Government buildings, the modest stores of the craftsmen near the main market.
According to one scholar, the title and content of the film suggest "the socio-cultural dichotomies often present in African urban centers."
See also
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Cinema of Senegal
The cinema of Senegal ( French: ''Cinéma du Sénégal'') is a relatively small film industry which experienced its prime from the 1960s through to the early 1980s, but has since declined to less than five feature films produced in the last ten y ...
References
External links
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1968 films
1968 short documentary films
Dakar
Documentary films about cities
Docufiction films
Senegalese short documentary films
Films directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty
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