NIAYE

Incest, suicide, usurpation and parricide. The griot tells the story of a village in the Senegalese bush where the greatest taboos of humanity have been broken. A woman goes into hiding: she is the daughter of the village chief and pregnant by her father. Her brother returns home from Indochina completely out of his mind. The mother cannot stand the dishonour and commits suicide. The village chief's brother convinces the mad son to kill his father and take power into his hands, recognized by the French administration. The griot, horrified, threatens to abandon the village to go where "truth does not only belong to the nobles". But he remains in the village and incites the population to rise against the usurper. Democracy is born. The daughter and her baby, born out of incest, are sent away from the village.

Director and screenplay: Ousmane Sembène.
Director of photography: Georges Caristan.
Music: Fatou Casset, Keba Faye.
Editor: André Gaudier.
Cast and characters: Serigne Sow (il griot), Astou N'Diaye (la griote), Nar Sène (il soldato), gli abitanti del villaggio di Keur Haly Sarrata.
Production company: Les Films Doomireew (Senegal), Actualités Françaises.