Best Senegalese movies
A curated collection of popular movies from Senegal.
Yao (2019)
Yao (2019)
From his village in northern Senegal, Yao is a 13-year-old boy ready to do anything to meet his hero: Seydou Tall, a famous French actor. Invited to Dakar to promote his new book, the latter goes to his country of origin for the first time. To fulfill his dream, the young Yao organizes his fugue and brave 387 kilometers alone to the capital. Touched by this child, the actor decides to flee his obligations and to accompany him home. But on the dusty and uncertain roads of Senegal, Seydou understands that while rolling towards the village of the child, it also rolls towards its roots.
Nafi's Father (2019)
Nafi's Father (2019)
Tokara wants to marry his cousin, the beautiful Nafi, bringing their fathers into conflict with one another. The youngest brother is a clergyman, while the other is a candidate for Mayor of the small town in Senegal. The struggle seems to be all about the children, but gradually it transpires that the children are pawns in a bitter dispute. Can their family ties help them overcome these ideological differences?
Tall as the Baobab Tree (2012)
Fary the Donkey (1990)
Fary the Donkey (1990)
When Serigne Ibra finally decides to get married, he declares that his future bride must not only be a ravishing beauty, but also must not have any kind of scar or blemish on her body.
Tang Jër (2020)
Tang Jër (2020)
An unusual Tangana tenant observes in his mysterious restaurant, the incessant ballet of the beings that populate the city of Dakar.
Little Light (2003)
Little Light (2003)
Fatima is a little girl of eight years. By opening and closing the refrigerator, she wonders if the light stays on when the door closes...
Faat Kiné (2001)
Faat Kiné (2001)
A forty-year-old woman refuses to give into the stigma of unwed motherhood and climbs the ladder of success in a male dominated field.
Le Franc (1994)
Le Franc (1994)
A penniless, fast-thinking musician buys a lottery ticket which he glues to his back door, in hopes of eventually retrieving his instrument from his exasperating landlady. —but the ticket wins...
Karmen Gei (2001)
Karmen Gei (2001)
Bizet's Carmen gets a modern adaptation. Seducting, provocating, sensual. All the ingredients for a perfect drama. With her charm, Karmen gets out of many situations.
Under the Starry Sky (2014)
Under the Starry Sky (2014)
The debut feature from Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Dyana Gaye charts the interconnected destinies of three far-flung sojourners across three continents. A quiet drama, about the anxieties of negotiating journeying to foreign countries and making a place for oneself in the world.
Almodou (2002)
Almodou (2002)
Sometimes distasteful practices are most effectively criticized with a good sense of humor. Meet Modou, a young, courageous and determined talibé - a pupil in a Koranic school - who manages to escape from his corrupt and abusive teacher to find a better life in contemporary Dakar, Senegal.
A Man, Women (1980)
A Man, Women (1980)
Directed by Ben Diogaye Beye.
Picc Mi (1992)
Picc Mi (1992)
Follows the story of two young boys and their adventure through the streets of Africa.
Samedi Cinema (2016)
Samedi Cinema (2016)
Two young Senegalese boys are determined to see one last film at the town movie theater before it closes forever. When they fall short of their goal, Baba’s loyalty to Sembene will be tested.
Rocking Poponguine (1994)
Rocking Poponguine (1994)
A tale of growing up in 1960s Senegal. Bacc narrates his early years of living in Popenguine, a town divided by culture and musical tastes.
Saint Louis Blues (2009)
Saint Louis Blues (2009)
This sweet musical takes us on a cross-country trip through Senegal, from Dakar to Saint Louis in a battered taxi, as passengers sing their stories.
Letter from My Village (1976)
Letter from My Village (1976)
Ngor is a young man living in a Senegalese village who wishes to marry Coumba. Ongoing drought in the village has affected its crop of groundnuts and as a result, Ngor cannot afford the bride price for Coumba. He goes to Senegal's capital city, Dakar, to try to earn more money and is exploited there. He returns to the villagers and shares his experiences of the city with the other men. The story, which shows the daily lives of the villagers, is told in the form of a letter to a friend from a villager, voiced by Faye.
Saaraba (1988)
Saaraba (1988)
Tamsir returns to Senegal after 17 years in Europe. His uncle gives him a patronage job in Dakar, virtually without duties. He visits his family's village to see his parents, and there he meets the beautiful Lissa. Tamsir espouses traditional ways, as does Lissa, but when her parents agree to marry her off to a corrupt and well-spoken member of parliament, Tamsir and Lissa dishonor the family and she becomes pregnant. The MP's response, his and Tasmir's uncle's plan to capture the village farmland, the reactions of Lissa's parents, who are strict followers of Islam, the disaffection of Dakar youth, and the dreams of a village mechanic to find "Saaraba" (Utopia) complete the story.
Tauw (1970)
Tauw (1970)
A young unemployed man fends off accusations of laziness and makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend who has been rejected by her family.
Môl (1966)
Môl (1966)
A young fisherman dreams of motorizing his boat to make his work easier. His dream becomes reality, thanks to his courage and his determination but causes conflict between traditional values and the modern notion of progress.
Contras' City (1969)
Contras' City (1969)
A fictional documentary that portrays the city of Dakar, Senegal, as we hear the conversation between a Senegalese man (the director, Djibril Diop Mambéty) and a French woman, Inge Hirschnitz. As we travel through the city in a picturesque horse drawn wagon, we chaotically rush into this and that popular neighborhood of the capital, discovering contrast after contrast: A small African community waiting at the Church's door, Muslims praying on the sidewalk, the Rococo architecture of the Government buildings, the modest stores of the craftsmen near the main market.
Africa on the Seine (1955)
Africa on the Seine (1955)
This film is widely regarded as the first film made by an African south of the Sahara. Labelled an “ethnological documentary in reverse,” it shows 1950s Paris from the cinematic perspective of a group of African immigrants. (Mubi)
Et la neige n'était plus (1965)
Et la neige n'était plus (1965)
After winning a scholarship to study in France, a young Senegalese man returns home and questions his experience and his future, with honesty, courage and humor.
A Tooth for a Tooth (2023)
A Tooth for a Tooth (2023)
Idrissa lives in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. As a result of budgetary restrictions imposed by the IMF, then headed by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, he lost his job as a civil servant. Since then, Idrissa has been looking for work, without success. His pride as an African man is all the more affected by the fact that he is now entirely dependent on his wife, Viviane, who somehow manages to support the family through her medical practice. Aminata (Idrissa and Viviane’s daughter) and Moussa, two young students in love with each other, also see their lives disrupted by the economic situation imposed on the country. After yet another humiliation, Idrissa, who holds Strauss-Kahn responsible for his misfortune, decides to go and see a marabout to prepare his revenge…