Mandabi

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival 1968 and considered the first feature-length film in an African language, Mandabi is regarded as one of Sembène’s most significant works.

Ibrahima Dieng (Makhourédia Guèye) is a lazy, pompous man with two hard-working and obedient wives Mety and Aram (Ynousse N’Diaye and Isseu Niang) and little money. But Dieng suddenly receives a money order from his nephew, a street cleaner in France, for 20,000 francs. He immediately realises, however, that he cannot cash it because he does not have identity documents, and a bureaucratic nightmare begins. Shot with stark simplicity, this beautifully restored print renders the vivid colours and the 1960s architecture of Dakar utterly tangible.