In an interview with Senegalese writer and filmmaker Ousmane Sembène in 1976, conducted by Noureddine Ghali, he was asked what motivates him as both a writer and a filmmaker. In his response, he explained that he does both to suit the needs of every African, so that those who can not read can watch the film. He added that, for him, cinema is his “eye, mirror, and awareness” (78). According to Sembène, literature or film should always seek ways to “look at and observe his people, to excerpt actions and situations which he chews over before giving them back to his people. Often, the worker or the peasant doesn’t have the time to pause on the details of their lives: they live them and do not have the time to tie them down” (78).
Similarly, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on March 3, 2021, Anne Lamott explained the rationale behind her book Dusk, Night, Dawn, which she wrote with the specific intention of providing solace to individuals grappling with despair in the wake of global crises. She clarified her rationale as follows: “I wrote Dusk, Night, Dawn specifically for people who were feeling hopeless in the aftermath of the UN papers on climate change, the fires in Australia (remember those?), and then Covid. I wanted to remind my readers that turning these things around is hard, but that we are GOOD at heart.” Though Lamott is not African, her reason for writing aligns with what many African writers and filmmakers believe. Both Sembène and Lamott clearly state that literature and film can be used to mirror society in order to bring about change or offer hope.
The latest film by Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, Dahomey (2024), reflects the colonial period in the context of artifacts taken from Dahomey (modern-day Benin). The movie focuses on the restitution of twenty-six artifacts, which is not only based on a true story but also the subject of many studies, such as the report by Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy. This report discusses the artifacts taken during colonization and suggests solutions for their restitution.
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