Known as Senegal’s “national writer” and the “father of African cinema”, Ousmane Sembène saw cinema as a tool for educating people and overcoming the barriers of words. He turned from literature to film, and made great achievements in both. His novels and films are mostly based on his personal experiences and social events of the time to create for the people and restore their due dignity. In order to promote the awakening of female consciousness, he recorded the history of African women’s active participation in social struggle, creating possibilities for women to resist gender oppression and achieve self-emancipation. Due to his lifelong commitment to the exploration of African native narrative, Sembène has become the most translated French speaking African writer in China, and the trend of adapting literature to film that he has set off in the African film ind
ustry has influenced so far.
