Events

The Films of Senegalese Filmmaker, Khady Sylla

Saturday, March 26th @  6:30 PM — TICKETS HERE

“Solitude, withdrawal into oneself, the incommunicability that gnaws at you, the stranglehold must be released, freeing the voice to speak, and speak again about what hurts. In summary, this is essential to the work of the writer and cineaste Khady Sylla.” (African Women in Cinema)

To celebrate the birth of the pioneering Senegalese female filmmaker Khady Sylla (1963 – 2013), ADIFF is pleased to present two of her films, Colobane Express and The Silent Monologue.

COLOBANE EXPRESS

Colobane Express is an insightful lens into the everyday realities of Senegalese urbanites — a peek into the busy urban metropolis of Dakar, Senegal, where drivers and their trainees are always on the go, managing relationships, incidents and conflicts, dealing with the competition and providing an invaluable service to demanding yet loving customers. 
(Directed by Khady Sylla, 1999, Senegal/France, Docu-Drama, 52 min, Wolof w/ English subt.)

THE SILENT MONOLOGUE (Le Monologue de la Muette)

In a voiceover, we hear the thoughts of Amy, a girl from a rural region of Senegal.  A domestic for a well-to-do family in Dakar, Amy complains about her employer–who constantly criticizes her–and dreams of one day opening her own eatery.

In Dakar, some 150,000 young women work as housekeepers for families whose daughters can go to school. To this, Amy wonders, “Why does the emancipation of some result in the servitude of others?”

Co-directed with Charlie Van Damme, The Silent Monologue is a 45 minute visual and poetic analysis of the life of maids in Senegal reminiscent of Ousmane Sembene’s classic Black Girl.

With a combination of documentary and theatrical mise en scene, filmmakers Khady Sylla and Charlie Van Damme provide Amy a voice that reflects those of the lowest echelons of society, and exhibits a lucid analysis of the human conditions of her peers.

 (Directed by Khady Sylla and  Charlie Van Damme, 2008, Senegal/Belgium, Docu-Drama, 48 min, French/Wolof w/English subt.)