Feature film
Tableau Ferraille
Moussa Sène Absa · 1997
Synopsis
Tableau Ferraille, a suburb of Dakar named after the scrap metal that litters its beach. Daam, a child of the neighbourhood trained in Europe, stands for the National Assembly on a single promise, to bring an end to the chaos; he is elected deputy, then becomes Minister of Development. His first wife, Gagnesiri, a devoted villager, has no children; urged on by those around him, he takes a second wife, Kiné, educated and ambitious. His friends see his rise as their chance, and Président, a crooked businessman, has his eye on the contract for a new bridge.
Context
The setting is the neighbourhood where the author grew up, which gives the story its name; the shoot took place some thirty kilometres from Dakar. The lead goes to the singer Ismaël Lô, alongside Fatou Ndiaye and Ndèye Bineta Diop. The story proceeds by flashbacks, and the Baye Fall fishermen play the role of a chorus commenting on the action. The film, in Wolof and French, is dated 1996 or 1997 depending on the sources; the American press saw it as the discovery of its festival.
Who it is for
A little under an hour and a half, subtitled, of a story that is easy to follow. The presence of a much-loved singer in the lead role makes it a good point of entry.
Prizes and reception
Prize for best image at the Ouagadougou festival in 1997, and prize for best French-language film at the Namur festival the same year.
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