The Revolution Won't Be Televised, Rama Thiaw, Senegal, 2016, 110’ OV with Spanish subtitles
What do we know of the Senegalese revolution, of the “black spring”, of the movement which in 2102 was led by rap artists such as Thiat and Kilifeu, in the streets of Dakar, demanding democracy?
When, in 2011, the president of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade decided to stand for re-election after twelve years in government, there was massive mobilisation as people took to the streets, calling for another system. Film director Rama Thiaw took it upon herself to depict that moment, and offer a version far removed from what was being coughed out in the official media, who denied, at every turn, the possibility of a Sub-Saharan spring. The result is a film that shows the conflicts between music, politics, the street and the state, which accords itself the title of the mystical song of the seventies by Gil-Scott-Heron, poet, musician, activist and member of the Black Panthers.
The film was awarded with the Fipresci prize and an special mention by the jury in Berlinale Forum in 2016.
What do we know of the Senegalese revolution, of the “black spring”, of the movement which in 2102 was led by rap artists such as Thiat and Kilifeu, in the streets of Dakar, demanding democracy?