Ceddo (1977)

Senegal 120m, Colour
Director: Ousmane Sembène; Cast: Tabata Ndiaye, Moustapha Yade, Ismaila Diagne, Matoura Dia, Omar Gueye, Mamadou Dioumé, Nar Modou, Ousmane Camara, Ousmane Sembene

The princess of a local village is kidnapped by the Ceddo in protest of their impending enforced conversion to Islam by their local King. Employing an almost documentary style, this film presents a history of West African oppression by outside forces. More precisely, Ceddo suggests that traditional culture was supplanted by ambition and greed, through religion and slavery, which further served to subjugate its people. As political protest, and as a form of resistance against the forces of oppression, Ceddo also reminds us that all too often it was only the men who spoke in African society, and that the role of women should never be overlooked (Klaus Ming March 2015).