Borom Sarret (Le Charretier)

Credits

Name: Borom Sarret (Le Charretier)

Country: Senegal

Year of publication: 1963

Color: b/w

Duration: 18 Minuten

Direction: Sembène, Ousmane

Screenplay: Sembène, Ousmane

Camera: Lacoste, Christian

Editing: Gaudier, André

Actor: Abdoulay, Ly; Albourah

Abstract

Sembene`s first film, Borom Sarret ("cart owner") chronicles a day in the life of a beleaguered horse-cart driver in Dakar. In spite of the material limitations of the production - if not because of the challenges they posed - Borom Sarret manages to create a powerful social statement as it combines simple means with complex observations on bureaucracy, religion, and the anonymity of the modern city. Compressing his narrative into a mere nineteen minutes, Sembene conveys the condition of Senegal`s urban poor as he situates their experience in the larger social panorama of post-independence Africa. (Africultures)