The Unforgettable: Black Girl (1966 film)

The Unforgettable: Black Girl (1966 film)

Black Girl (French: La noire de…) is a 1966 French-Senegalese drama film, written and directed by Ousmane Sembène in his directorial debut. It is based on a short story from Sembène’s 1962 collection Voltaique, which was in turn inspired by a real life incident. Black Girl stars Mbissine Thérèse Diop as Diouana, a young Senegalese woman who moves from Dakar, Senegal to Antibes, France to work for a French couple. In France, Diouana hopes to continue her former job as a nanny and anticipates a new cosmopolitan lifestyle. However, upon her arrival in Antibes, Diouana experiences harsh treatment from the couple, who force her to work as a servant. She becomes increasingly aware of her constrained and alienated situation, and starts to question her life in France.

Black Girl is often considered the first Sub-Saharan African film by an African filmmaker to receive international attention. Although Western film critics poorly received it, it was seen as a classic of world cinema by the 2010s.

Storyline

A Senegalese woman is eager to find a better life abroad. She takes a job as a governess for a French family, but finds her duties reduced to those of a maid after the family moves from Dakar to the south of France. In her new country, the woman is constantly made aware of her race and mistreated by her employers. Her hope for better times turns to disillusionment and she falls into isolation and despair. The harsh treatment leads her to consider suicide the only way out

Also Read:

• Davido discloses huge Netflix series 
• The Future of Filmmaking in Africa is Very Bright Because We Are Seeing Younger Filmmakers who Are More Daring Than Never Before – Orobosa Ikponmwen
• Re-enacting the Revolutionary Power of Art in Africa
• Anthill Studios And Its Organizational Culture of Excellence

AFT Administrator