Moolaadé

Ousmane Sembène

IndieLisboa 2020 •

Senegal, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Fiction, 2004, 124′

This is Sembène’s last film and the second of a planned trilogy about the heroism of the African woman. In a small Senegalese village, Collé Ardo, the second wife of a prosperous farmer, plans her daughter’s marriage. But suddenly, she decides to shelter four young girls that are trying to escape the “purification” ritual of female circumcision. Her attitude causes a conflict in the village, dividing the members of her community.