African Film Archive

Afrique sur Seine

1955 — Mamadou Sarr, Paulin Soumanou Vieyra — Senegal, France

short · documentary · liberation

Barred from filming in Senegal under France's 1934 Laval Decree, which prevented colonial subjects from directing films in their own territories, Vieyra and Sarr shot this short in Paris instead, moving between the Niger and the Seine to portray African student life, and it is widely called the beginning of African cinema.

Fun fact: Vieyra went on to co-found the African Cinema Group and became one of the first historians of African film.

Notes: Regarded as one of the first films directed by Black Africans, made in Paris rather than Senegal because of colonial-era filming restrictions; era placed at liberation per its 1955 date despite predating most African-shot liberation-era cinema.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia