Director
Ousmane Sembène
Cast list
Robert Fontaine: Commandant
Michel Remaudeau: Lieutenant
Pierre Blanchard: Colonel
Credits
Writing Credits: Ousmane Sembène
Cinematography: Michael Remaudeau
Synopsis
The film, Emitai, is the story of the silent resistance among a Diola tribe in West Africa in early World War II. Desiring a strong army, the French tear through villages rallying up men to be transported to France while leaving the women behind to tend to children and the elderly. The tension between the army and villagers grow when the French demand access to their rice crop. The village resistance ends in violence and uproar because rice is not only essential but also sacred to the village.
Reviews
Robert Greenspun, Screen: 'Emitai' a Tragic Vignette from Senegal: The Program, The New York Times
Academic Articles:
Petty, Sheila. “Postcolonial Transformations: From Emitaï (Sembène 1971) To Moolaadé (Sembène 2004).” International Journal Of Francophone Studies 14.4 (2011): 323-338. Film & Television Literature Index. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Baum, Robert. “Tradition And Resistance In Ousmane Sembène’s Films Emitai And Ceddo.” Black and White in Colour: African History on Screen. 41-58. Athens, OH: Ohio UP, 2007. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Peters, Jonathan A. “Aesthetics And Ideology In African Film: Ousmane Sembène’s Emitai.” African Literature in Its Social and Political Dimensions. 69-75. Washington, DC: Three Continents, 1986. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Pfaff, Françoise. “Myths, Traditions, And Colonialism In Ousmane Sembène’s Emitai.” College Language Association Journal 24.3 (1981): 336-346. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.