Sembène Film Festival: Burkinabè Rising (Burkina Faso)

Burkinabè Rising, a new documentary from Cultures of Resistance Films, showcases creative nonviolent resistance in Burkina Faso. A small, landlocked country in West Africa, Burkina Faso is home to a vibrant community of artists and engaged citizens, who provide an example of the type of political change that can be achieved when people come together. It is an inspiration, not only to the rest of Africa but also to the rest of the world.

Through music, film, ecology, visual art, and architecture, the people featured in this film are carrying on the revolutionary spirit of Thomas Sankara. After assuming the presidency in 1983, Sankara was killed in a 1987 coup d’état led by his friend and close advisor Blaise Compaoré, who subsequently ruled the country as an autocrat for twenty-seven years. In October 2014 a massive popular insurrection led to his removal. Today, the spirit of resistance is mightier than ever in Burkina Faso.

Sembène – The Film & Art Festival – is a group of scholars, activists and film aficionados. Our mission is to celebrate the life, showcase the work and honor the legacy of African Filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, through film and other complementary cultural events.

The Festival serves both as a vehicle and catalyst: to honor the life, work and legacy of Ousmane Sembene and to showcase film makers and other art/cultural events that speak, unflinchingly, to the important issues facing the modern African Diaspora.