With the film industry continuing to delay films and hold onto titles well into 2021, just like last year, now’s the perfect time to catch up with classic features that you might not have been able to see before. And what better way to kick off the new year than by experiencing Ousmane Sembène’s iconic 1968 film, “Mandabi,” looking better than it ever has before?
With Janus Films and Film Forum set to distribute a new 4K restoration of “Mandabi” via virtual cinemas next week, we’re thrilled to give our readers an exclusive look at the trailer for what is a groundbreaking satire. As seen in the trailer, Sembène’s film tells the story of a Senegalese man, Ibrahima, that tries absolutely everything to cash a money order from his nephew, who is off in Paris earning money for himself and his family. With no ID and quickly running out of options, Ibrahima goes to great lengths to cash the money order for his nephew.
As mentioned, “Mandabi” is written and directed by Sembène, based on a novel that he also authored. The film is probably best known for being the first feature-length film in the native language of Wolof and the first African-language feature film from West Africa. In addition, upon its debut at the Venice Film Festival decades ago, “Mandabi” earned the Special Jury Prize. And now, more than 50 years later, Janus Films has created a beautiful 4K restoration of the classic film for audiences to enjoy.
“Mandabi” will open via Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema on January 15. You can watch the new trailer for the 4K restoration below, as well as see the beautiful poster for the release.
Here’s the synopsis:
This second feature by Ousmane Sembène was the first movie ever made in the Wolof language—a major step toward the realization of the trailblazing Senegalese filmmaker’s dream of creating a cinema by, about, and for Africans. After jobless Ibrahima Dieng receives a money order for 25,000 francs from a nephew who works in Paris, news of his windfall quickly spreads among his neighbors, who flock to him for loans even as he finds his attempts to cash the order stymied in a maze of bureaucracy, and new troubles rain down on his head. One of Sembène’s most coruscatingly funny and indignant films, Mandabi—an adaptation of a novella by the director himself—is a bitterly ironic depiction of a society scarred by colonialism and plagued by corruption, greed, and poverty.
