Ababacar Samb Makharam
Senegalese filmmaker (1934–1987)
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Ababacar Samb Makharam (21 October 1934 – 7 October 1987), also spelt Ababacar Samb-Makharam, was a Senegalese filmmaker. His film production company was called Baobab Films.
Ababacar Samb Makharam | |
|---|---|
2023 | |
| Born | 21 October 1934 Dakar, Senegal |
| Died | 7 October 1987 (aged 52) Dakar |
| Occupations | Film director, actor, camera operator, screenwriter, and film producer |
| Notable work | Kodou, 1971; Jom (ou L'Histoire d'un peuple), 1982. |
| Awards | Prix Georges Sadoul |
Early life and education
Samb Makharam was born in Dakar, Senegal, on 21 October 1934.[1]
He attended the Senegalese Navy school, Centre de Formation Professionnelle de la Marine de Dakar, in 1950–1951, and worked in a law firm (1952–1953).[1] He then left for Paris, France, and attended the École française de radioélectricité Rue Amyot (1954–1955, now EFREI Paris).[citation needed]
In 1955 Samb Makharam founded the Paris theatre group Les Griots, uniting various Antillean and African actors such as Timité Bassori, Toto Bissainthe, Robert Liensol, and Sarah Maldoror.[citation needed]
From 1955 until 1958 Samb Makharam trained as an actor at the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la Rue Blanche.[2]
From 1959 to 1962 he was a cinema student at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre) in Rome, after which he travelled in the United States for further study (1962–1963).[1]
Career
While studying as an actor in Paris, Samb Makharam performed in the films Tamango (1957) directed by John Berry and Les Tripes au soleil (1958) by Claude Bernard-Aubert.[citation needed]
After studying in the US and Italy, he returned to France to join the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) as an assistant director for television.[citation needed]
Samb Makharam worked as an actor, camera operator, screenwriter, film and television director, and film producer over the course of his career.[3][2][4][5]
On returning to Senegal in 1964, Samb Makharam worked for the Ministry of Information there,[2] was a cameraman with the Senegalese TV news,[4] and served as a director and producer at Radio Sénégal (Dakar).[1]
In 1965 he directed his first feature film Et la neige n'etait plus / There Was No Longer Snow, followed by Kodou in 1971.[4] He founded his own film production company, Baobab Films.[1]
He pioneered a new style with a timeless role for the traditional Senegalese griot in his 1982 movie Jom ou L'Histoire d'un Peuple (Jom or the History of a People).[6]
Other activities
Samb Makharam served as the secretary general of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) from 1971 to 1977.[4]
Death and legacy
Samb Makharam died in Dakar on 7 October 1987 at the age of 52.[4]
Theatre
Between 1955 and 1964 Samb Makharam performed as an actor in various productions of his Paris theatre group Les Griots:[1]
| Play | Author | Director |
|---|---|---|
| L'ombre de La Ravine (In the Shadow of the Glen, 1903) | John Millington Synge | Roger Blin |
| La Fille des Dieux (1958) | Abdou Anta Ka or Kâ | Roger Blin |
| Huis-Clos (1944) | Jean Paul Sartre | Roger Blin |
| Papa Bon Dieu (1958) | Louis Sapin | Michel Vitold |
Filmography
Samb Makharam's films include:[1][7]
| Year | Film | Description | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Tamango | Feature film directed by John Berry. Historical drama about a failed slave rebellion on a slave ship. | Actor | 98 minutes |
| 1958 | Les Tripes au soleil | Feature by Claude Bernard-Aubert. Dramatic comedy about racial segregation and romantic love with a happy ending. | Actor | 125 m |
| 1961 | L'Ubriaco (L'Ivresse) | Short film, love story. Final exam film at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome. | Screen writer, film director | 5m 34s[5] or 6m[8] |
| 1966 | Et la neige n'était plus... | Short, drama. After completing his studies in France a young Senegalese evaluates his past and future on return to his country.[9] First Prize (Grand Prix) at the World Festival of Black Arts (Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres). | Screen writer, film director | 22 m |
| 1968 | La Terre et le Paysan | Short, black and white documentary. | Screen writer, film director | |
| 1971 | Kodou[10] | Feature, drama. Kodou, a young girl flaunts the traditions when she flees a lip tattooing ceremony. Her family is discredited and Kodou goes insane, preying on young children. When a European psychiatrist cannot cure Kodou, her parents subject her to a traditional exorcism session. Winner of the Prix Georges-Sadoul, France. | Screen writer, film director | 100 m |
| 1982 | Jom ou L'Histoire d'un peuple (Jom or the History of a people) | Feature drama with an important role for the griot Khaly who exhorts striking workers. He explains them that the traditional Jom – a Wolof word for self esteem – is the source of all virtues. It includes the resistance to any oppression, be it by the enslaving colonizer or by the factory employer Mr. Diop.[6] | Screen writer, film director, producer | 80 m |