Ainsi Meurent Les Anges (And So Angels Die)
African Directors
•
57m
Directed by Moussa Sene Absa • Drama • With Ibrahima M'Baye, Thierno Ndiaye Doss • 2001 • 56 minutes
Moussa Sene Absa's latest work pushes the formal boundaries of African cinema to explore the complex interplay of history and psychology in contemporary Africa. Intensely personal and at the same time deeply political, Ainsi meurent les anges combines the elegiac lyricism of his Ça twiste à Poponguine with the acerbic social critique of Tableau Ferraille. What is perhaps most surprising is that this creative freedom was won precisely by working within the constraints of new low-budget video technology. Appearing the same year as Karmen Geï and Faat Kine, it attests to the continuing vitality of Senegalese filmmaking as it propels African cinema in boldly innovative directions.
Up Next in African Directors
-
You Will Be My Ally
Directed by Rosine Mbakam • Drama • With Bwanga Pilipili • 2013 • 20 minutes
In this gripping short drama, Domé, a young woman from Gabon who speaks flawless French, is apprehended at the airport on her way into Belgium. She says she’s a French citizen—a businesswoman on her way to meet with sup...
-
This is Nollywood
Directed by Franco Sacchi • Documentary • 2007 • 56 minutes
First came Hollywood, then Bollywood and now Nollywood, Nigeria’s booming film industry, which released 2000 feature features in 2006 alone. Where else can you shoot a full-length dramatic film for $10,000 in 7 days? Until recently litt...
-
Karmen Gei
Directed by Joseph Gai Ramaka • Drama • With Djeïnaba Diop Gaï, Magaye Niang, Stephanie Biddle • 2001 • 82 minutes
Director Joseph Gaï Ramaka writes: "Carmen is a myth but what does Carmen represent today? Where do Carmen's love and freedom stand at the onset of the 21st Century? Therein lies my...
