BFM

Djibril Diop Mambety 1945-1998

The Hyena of African cinema dies.

Djibril Diop Mambety the Senegalese filmmaker who died in Paris after a long illness suffering from cancer was probably the most respected filmmaker of his generation.

Affectionately known to his friends as the Hyena. Mambety was the first avant garde filmmaker from Africa whose stylistic sophistication in his work and his passion for poetry, sound and light, identified him as a unique voice.

Born in Dakar Senegal in 1945 Mambety studied drama for two years and then worked as a stage actor-director at the Daniel Sorano Theater in Senegal. He made his debut as a film director with the first comic African film Contrast City (1968). He will be most remembered for his classic film Touki Bouki (1973). The film, which deplored the mentality of African youths who were deserting their continent to take refuge in the European cities was a pioneering trend towards the avant garde cinematic movement in Africa.

While editing Touki Bouki in Rome Mambety was arrested for his participation in a demonstration against racism with a group of African students and the local Communist Party. He was kept in jail for over five weeks only to be released after intervention by the lawyers of the Communist Party and those of several of his friends who included the Italian director Bertollucci and the actress Sophia Loren.

In 1991 he completed his second feature film Hyenes an adaptation of The Visit, a novel by the Swiss playwright Friedich Durrenmatt. Hyenes is a story about Linguere who returns to her impoverished village in the Sahel a wealthy woman after several years abroad. She demands the death of her former lover before she will save the village from further misery. Hyenes which was screened at Cannes in 1992 and was to be the first of a trilogy of his films on greed, power and wealth. He had just finished shooting the second part of his trilogy La Petite Vendeuse de Soliel just before his death

Mambety had been looking forward to further develop the film project about the life of Munhumutapa one of the most powerful and feared African rulers, whose empire spread across South Eastern Africa that endured from 1200 through to 1800. The size of the project reflects the great heart and spirit of a master filmmaker who will be sorely missed.

Keith Shiri




Feature: Editorial Portrait of Earl Cameron Star of British Cinema Tribute to the late Djibril Diop Mambety, the "hyena "of Africa cinema Reviews of past film events and festivals Interview with Kasi Lemmons: Director of Eve's Bayou Finance: Big changes in little Soho (c)Black Filmmaker Publications 1998: All right reserved			Djibril Diop Mambety 1945-1998 The Hyena of African cinema dies. Djibril Diop Mambety the Senegalese filmmaker who died in Paris after a long illness suffering from cancer was probably the most respected filmmaker of his generation. Affectionately known to his friends as the Hyena. Mambety was the first avant garde filmmaker from Africa whose stylistic sophistication in his work and his passion for poetry, sound and light, identified him as a unique voice. Born in Dakar Senegal in 1945 Mambety studied drama for two years and then worked as a stage actor-director at the Daniel Sorano Theater in Senegal. He made his debut as a film director with the first comic African film Contrast City (1968). He will be most remembered for his classic film Touki Bouki (1973). The film, which deplored the mentality of African youths who were deserting their continent to take refuge in the European cities was a pioneering trend towards the avant garde cinematic movement in Africa. While editing Touki Bouki in Rome Mambety was arrested for his participation in a demonstration against racism with a group of African students and the local Communist Party. He was kept in jail for over five weeks only to be released after intervention by the lawyers of the Communist Party and those of several of his friends who included the Italian director Bertollucci and the actress Sophia Loren. In 1991 he completed his second feature film Hyenes an adaptation of The Visit, a novel by the Swiss playwright Friedich Durrenmatt. Hyenes is a story about Linguere who returns to her impoverished village in the Sahel a wealthy woman after several years abroad. She demands the death of her former lover before she will save the village from further misery. Hyenes which was screened at Cannes in 1992 and was to be the first of a trilogy of his films on greed, power and wealth. He had just finished shooting the second part of his trilogy La Petite Vendeuse de Soliel just before his death Mambety had been looking forward to further develop the film project about the life of Munhumutapa one of the most powerful and feared African rulers, whose empire spread across South Eastern Africa that endured from 1200 through to 1800. The size of the project reflects the great heart and spirit of a master filmmaker who will be sorely missed. Keith Shiri