Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:32:07 -0500 From: Aboubakar Sidiki Sanogo <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Djibril Diop Mambety Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Disposition: inline The motion picture community has lost one of its geniuses. Djibril Diop Mambety, the physically, spiritually and intellectually tall Senegalese film director passed away on Thursday, July 23rd 1998 in a Paris hospital. He was receiving treatment for lung cancer. Djibril Diop Mambety will be remembered for his masterpieces "Touki Bouki" (1973),(which earned him international recognition at the Cannes Film Festival of that year) "Hyenas"(1992) and "Le Franc"( 1994) , all stunning for their visual poetry and mastery of story-telling. My favorite quote from Djibril is the one he had in a 1991 interview published in Ecrans d'Afrique/African Screen Magazine. He says : "One day I ran into God. He seemed quite tired, a bit panic-stricken. I told him I was Djibril Al Islam, the messenger of God... I asked him what the matter was. He replied "I'm looking for my mother". I told Him "Go and have some sleep. You'll be luckier tomorrow". And that's exactly what he did...". Today the messenger is probably having lunch with God, feeding him back on what he saw on our troubled planet during his very short VISIT(1945-1998 ). Goodbye Djibril, may your soul rest in peace. Aboubakar Sidiki Sanogo Fellow-Film Programming National Museum of African Art Smithsonian Institution 950 Independence Ave, SW Washington Dc 20560 Phone 202-357-4600 (ext) 224 Fax 202-357-4879 E-mail: [log in to unmask] ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite