Little Senegal (2001)

Director:

Rachid Bouchareb

Writers:

Rachid Bouchareb, Olivier Lorelle

Stars:

Sotigui Kouyaté, Sharon Hope, Roschdy Zem

10 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sotigui Kouyaté	...	Alloune
Sharon Hope	...	Ida
Roschdy Zem	...	Karim
Karim Traoré	...	Hassan (as Karim Koussein Traoré)
Adetoro Makinde	...	Amaralis
Adja Diarra	...	Biram
Malaaika Lacario	...	Eileen
Daryl Edwards	...	Customer
Ismail Bashey	...	Foreman
Moctar Teyeb	...	Imam
Toy Connor	...	Girl
David Langston Smyrl	...	Landlord
Ahmed Ben Larby	...	Shop Owner
Ron C. Jones	...	Westley
Cheryl L. Williams	...	American Woman (as Cheryl L. Williams Name)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

widow | taxi driver | african american | genealogy | ghetto | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Algeria France Germany

Language:

English French Wolof Arabic

Release Date:

18 April 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

Pikku-Senegal

Filming Locations:

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 17,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

3B Productions, Canal+, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

very honest, modest, counter-Hollywood style and held-back film

Little Senegal has this very sparse style, about a Senegalese man searching for the descendants of his enslaved family, 300 years later. Especially the beginning of the film, with all the old white Southerners is reminiscent of the Golden Age of American cinema, the Seventies ('They shoot horses, don't they?', 'Lolly-Madonna' etc.)

It's so refreshing to watch a film and not hear a constant jitter of back ground music, aiming for music-CD sales. I guess that 75 percent of this film doesn't have ANY music whatsoever. This film respects the viewer, and doesn't waste time with showing scenes that aren't really necessary. In your average Hollywood flic, you would have seen scenes that would be about the main characters not understanding each other, and conflict-scenes. Not so in this one. We jump from scene to scene, while everybody harmonically agrees.

In the middle of the film, Alloune (Sotigui Kouyaté) finds happiness with Ida (Shareon Hope). It's maybe unkind to say, but he looks a lot worse when he's happy and he has a big smile.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks that this film is a gem, NINE WINS? Well done.