Wednesday, April 19, 2017

KEMTIYU-SEEX ANTA (Directed by Ousmane William M’Baye) *



Archival stills and film clips attempt to reveal the genius of Cheikah Anita Diop. This brilliant Senrgalese man went to Paris’s Sorbonne to study philosophy as a young man, and also chemistry. He became an advocate for proving Egypt was not European , but a nation of blacks. In fact, it is African. He wrote volumes on African history, and upon returning to Senegal, opened up a carbon 14 laboratory. This wonderful man was arrested for his beliefs on Egypt, and only got his due after his death, when the University in Dakar’s name changed to take on his name.  He died in 1986 at the age of 63. What a loss! The film was far too long, and the assortment of people who were interviewed were so many that the film in trying to distil his life turned into a talking heads historical narration that did not truly capture this great man’s passion. (Screened at Vues d”Afrique)

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