Films

The work of pioneering Senegalese filmmaker and ethnologist Safi Faye is the subject of our Special Focus at the 16th RAI Film Festival.

In Fad’jal, Faye tells the story of a Serer village in the groundnut basin of Senegal. Using the words of their ancestors passed on by oral folklore, the villagers trace the history of their village and their difficulties in working their land and living off their produce. Fad’jal is an extraordinary boundary defying film that interweaves ethnographic footage, intimate observation of everyday village life and fictionalised historical scenes. With it, Faye carefully encourages the viewers to reflect both on African history and storytelling, and on the intersection of fiction and documentary.

This screening will be introduced by Caterina Sartori (RAI) and Estrella Sendra (University of Southampton)