About

Le Franc and The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun are two medium-length films brimming with light. With his signature warmth and gentle comedy, director Djibril Diop Mambéty chronicles the obstacles faced in daily life by his captivating characters. These are the first two films intended as a trilogy about the poor titled ‘Tales of Ordinary People’. Mambéty describes the people he wants to capture in these films as “the only truly consistent, unaffected people in the world, for whom every morning brings the same essential question: how to preserve what is essential to themselves.” Mambéty was unable to complete the trilogy due to his untimely death in 1998 at age 53.

Le Franc 1994

Le Franc follows musician Marigo who is so behind on rent his landlady has confiscated his precious musical instrument – a congoma. Marigo is reminiscent of a Charlie Chaplin clown in his slapstick charm and, dreaming of reclaiming the instrument (“my congoma is my whole life”) Marigo buys a lottery ticket. Inconceivably his number is the winning ticket, the only problem is, its glued to his bedroom door for safe keeping.

Bursting with fascinating characters, the film conjures the sights and sounds of Dakar as Mambéty, with his typical comedic touch, shrewdly comments on the economic realities of the people of Senegal – in this case referencing 1994 French government’s devastating overnight devaluation of the CFA franc.

46 minutes | Ages 12+

La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil (The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun) 1999

A film full of heart, The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun combines two of Mambéty’s loves: Dakar and the lives and longings of children. The narrative focuses on those struggling to survive – the unemployed, disabled and the poor. Lissa Baléra is radiant as Sili, a child who walks with the aid of crutches and begs on the streets yet dreams of a new respectability by finding a job selling newspapers. Only rough, pushy boys sell the newspaper, but Sili is determined she has what it takes ‘what a boy does, girls can do it too’. Music and song permeate the film, enriching the lives of the characters and adding a softening touch to the hustle of Dakar life. Internationally renowned musician Wasis Diop (Mambéty’s brother and Mati Diop’s father) composed the soundtrack and was a long-time collaborator with the director.

45 minutes | Ages 15+