Le Franc
Encyclopedia
Le Franc is a 1994 Senegalese
short comedy film
, directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty
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Le Franc is about Marigo, a penniless musician living in a shanty town, relentlessly harassed by his formidable landlady.
This film uses the French government's 50% devaluation of the West African CFA franc
in 1994, and the resulting hardships as the basis for a whimsical commentary on using the lottery for survival.
Le Franc was originally intended as the first film of a trilogy under the title, Tales of Ordinary People. However, Mambety’s untimely death in 1998 prevented the completion of the third film.
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Cinema of Senegal
The cinema of Senegal is a relatively small film industry which experienced its prime from the 1960s through to the early 1980s, but has since declined to less than five feature films produced in the last ten years.-Early films: 1955-1969:...
short comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty
Djibril Diop Mambéty
Djibril Diop Mambéty was a Senegalese film director, actor, orator, composer and poet. Though he made only a small number of films, they received international acclaim for their original and experimental cinematic technique and non-linear, unconventional narrative style. Born to a Muslim family...
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Le Franc is about Marigo, a penniless musician living in a shanty town, relentlessly harassed by his formidable landlady.
This film uses the French government's 50% devaluation of the West African CFA franc
West African CFA franc
The West African CFA franc is the currency of eight independent states in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sénégal and Togo. The acronym CFA stands for Communauté financière d'Afrique...
in 1994, and the resulting hardships as the basis for a whimsical commentary on using the lottery for survival.
Le Franc was originally intended as the first film of a trilogy under the title, Tales of Ordinary People. However, Mambety’s untimely death in 1998 prevented the completion of the third film.
Synopsis
The film features a poor musician, Marigo, who finds solace in playing his congoma, which has been confiscated because of his debt. Marigo plays the lottery, and despite winning, encounters obstacles to claiming the reward.Release
Le Franc was released on DVD coupled with La petite vendeuse de Soleil (The Little Girl who Sold the Sun) and is distributed by California Newsreel ProductionsCalifornia Newsreel
California Newsreel, founded in 1968, is an American non-profit, social justice film distribution and production company based in San Francisco, California. Their educational media resources include both documentary and feature films, with a focus on the advancement of racial justice and diversity...
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