Tentative de façonner le récit africain à l’aide du matériel cinématographique colonial: Katy Lèna Ndiaye

Every Wednesday at noon — since 1973! — African Studies Program faculty, students, and community members have gathered for AFRICA AT NOON, a one-hour weekly lecture series bringing diverse African research from scholars around the world to a campus and community audience.

Katy Lena Ndiaye is a film director and producer whose films offer a window into contemporary Africa, tracing its journey through history and memory. Her lens has a particular focus, a gentle spotlight on women’s perspectives regarding transmission and heritage. Awards quietly adorn her work, earned at festivals across the globe. Known for her documentaries about women muralists, “Traces” (2003) and “Awaiting for Men” (2007), Katy Lena’s work reflects on transmission, and the nuanced journey of womanhood. Among her recent creations is “Time is on Our Side” (2019), a portrait of Burkinabe rapper Smockey, whose words became a catalyst in the resistance to Blaise Compaoré’s regime in Burkina Faso. Her most recent work, “Money, Freedom, a History of CFA Franc” (2022), sheds light on the currency of French-speaking Africa, which carries echoes of the colonial past into the present. In 2013, Katy Lena founded IndigoMood Films in Dakar, a place where her own narratives unfold, and where she accompanies talented directors in bringing their stories, their singular visuals grammars to the screen.

Spring 2024 Africa at Noon events will be livestreamed on Zoom. You can join here.

You can view available recordings of past Africa at Noon speakers here and on the event page as well.