On behalf of FIGSO, I'm pleased to announce the sixth screening in the Cinéma Français Today Film Festival, Rachid Bouchareb's 2001 film Little Senegal. We are pleased to welcome distinguished guest speakers Professor Hélène Tissières from the Department of French and Italian, Professor Helena Woodard from the Department of English, and Professor Tola Mosadomi from the Department of Middle Eastern Studies.
The film will begin promptly at 7 pm with a discussion to follow. This film will also be the subject of our Cannes Film Festival Essay Contest, details of which are found in the
previous post.
The film will be subtitled and free to the public as always. We anticipate heavy attendance, so we suggest that you come early to reserve a seat. We hope to see you next Monday!
Here is a synopsis of the film from
http://www.informante.web.na/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5629&Itemid=104"The movie, set in Little Senegal, traces the journey a Senegalese man, Alloune (Sotigui Kouyate), a former guide at Goree Island’s History of Slavery museum, takes from the mainland Africa to America to persuade his cousins staying in Little Senegal to return home ... Directed by Rachid Bouchareb, the 2001 movie plays around the confusion and reluctance by Alloune’s assumed cousins Ida Robinson (Sharon Hope) and Hassan (Karim Koussein Traore) to decide whether to return to Africa or stay in America. Ida and Hassan’s indecision symbolises the identity confusion gripping descendants of slaves scattered around the world. For Ida and Hassan, it’s not enough and satisfying to be Americans and at the same time, they do not identify themselves with Africa.Just like many others, Africa for and to Ida and Hassan is a paradise in the distance but one which they are not comfortable to be in."
