In memory of El Hadj Samba Sarr
One of the Talent Press writers shares memories of his friend, filmmaker and Talent Campus Alumnus El Hadj Samba Sarr.
El Hadj Samba Sarr
Even though passing away is the most unavoidable thing in life, it leaves pain, anxiety and fear. This is how we feel now, in mourning the departure of one of the most talented young filmmakers in Africa.
El Hadj Samba Sarr, 41, passed away just as he was establishing himself as a remarkable force in Senegalese and African cinema. According to his family, the director died on the 7th of May from the effects of malaria.
Samba, as we used to call him, was a smart, intuitive and knowledgeable individual who enjoyed communicating with others. Conviction and integrity characterize this life. In the time he spent at Durban Talent Campus in 2009, and at the Berlinale Talent Campus in February 2010, he impressed everyone, showing an immense appeal and charm.
He became friends with many of his colleagues, being the epitome of vitality, energy and curiosity about life. He always mantained that this trait was the foundation of his filmmaking activity. He displayed a striking openness to the world, never ceasing to rely on his analytical mind. This is what made Samba a good and inspiring young filmmaker.
El Hadj Samba Sarr developed his skills during numerous filmmaking workshops around the world, travelling across Africa and to Europe and America. He attended workshops with renowned filmmakers such as Newton Aduaka, whom he met in Canada in 2008. He was able to start his career with the help of fundings by the European Union and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France.
His first film AMULYAKAR (2002), explored the notion of football as a tool of social integration in Africa and was awarded the Audience Prize at the Festival de Film de Quartier of Dakar in Senegal in 2002. In the same year he won a prize at the Festival Codigital of Barcelona. TV5 and Canal France International bought the film and broadcasted it to international audiences.
His documentary GRAINES QUE LA MER EMPORTE (2007) remains the most successful film of his short and eternal career. Acquired in 2008 by Canal France International , it was regarded as the best documentary at the Festival Image et Vie of Dakar in 2009, and selected at the Festival de Films Documentaires d’Amiens in France.
He took part in the 2009 Talent Campus in Durban with his feature film LE PRINCE DES GAZELLES, and this year he went to Berlin to participate in the Campus Editing Studio with his documentary project BASSARI GREEN GOLD.
Regarded as an important voice of Senegalese cinema, in 2009 he also realized LA DISCORDE, a short film dealing with the problem of cultural shock. It was presented at several festivals, such as Africa Fespaco, and was awarded the "Prix d'encouragement" at the Festival Films Panafricains du FNUAP, in Dakar.
In the words of Senegalese poet Birago Diop, ‘the dead are never dead, they are in the flowing water… they are in the shadow that comes on… They are in the tree that quivers’.
And there is and will be Samba.
301 Moved Permanently