Faat Kiné

Mon 27 Oct at 5.30pm

Ousmane Sembene | Senegal 2001 | 2h | 35mm | French and Wolof with English subtitles | 15

Part of Sembene's planned trilogy on the everyday heroism of African women (of which Moolaadé was the second, and turned out to be his last film before his death in June 2007), Faat Kiné tells the story of an uncompromising, resourceful and fiercely independent Senegalese businesswoman. After two pregnancies out of wedlock, Faat Kiné has earned a place for herself as a successful gas station owner in patriarchal Senegalese society, raising her two children alone and providing fully for their needs. The plot is interspersed with flashbacks relating Faat Kiné's struggles on her way to success and emancipation.

The undisputed "father of African cinema" sums up 40 years of path-breaking filmmaking with this penetrating analysis of the interplay of gender, economics and power in contemporary Africa.