Cinefórum-Clásico

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 Khalil, the griot, tells two stories. The first story remembers Dieri Dior N'Della who killed a French colonial administrator. When he finds himself caught in the course of a retaliatory action, Dieri Dior N'Della prefers death by his own hand to surrender. The second story is in praise of Koura Thiaw, a singer and dancer who used her art to agitated against the plight of oppressed house maids – while performing in front of their employers. Both stories are told against the background of a strike, to encourage the righteous. Their story, the film implies, shall one day be the stuff of future griots' tales. 
Jom is a Wolof word which has no equivalent in French or in English. 'Jom' means dignity, courage, respect... It is the origin of all virtues. It somehow means elegance in the way one lives. Fidelity toward one's involvements. Respect towards others and oneself.
'Jom' guides the lives and behavior of thousands of people in West Africa. For them, it is 'jom' which makes a man, and not his family origins or his wealth. 'Jom' protects us against the absurdity of life. It keeps us away from lies and cowardice. It saves us from humiliations and offenses... 'Jom' is beyond God and beyond evil. (Ababacar Samb-Makharam)
What determines culture? It is its physical environment [...] the climate, the savannah, the mountain, the forest in which we live. Culture is the way we deal with the world around us, how we look for food, how we react in the face of joy or fear... We [Senegalese...] have a stylistic approach which matches what we have just described. I believe that a slow pace characterizes Senegalese films, even African films... It would be very easy for us to speed up our films through editing but I don't think we should make concessions [...] By continuing to make films which serve our own needs, I believe that we will reach a point when our works will assert themselves universally. (Ababacar Samb-Makharam)
Ababacar Samb-Makharam, born 1934 in Dakar (Senegal, OAF) to a farming and fishing family of Lebon origins and Muslim extraction. Moves to Paris in 1953; visits courses in electrical engineering in 1954-55. In 1956 he receives a scholarship to study drama at the Centre d'Art Dramatique; works occasionally as an actor in cinema (a.o. Tamango, 1958; John Berry). In '58 another scholarship follows which permits him to study cinema at the CSC in Rome from 1959-62. Between 1962 and '63 he works as an assistant director for French television. Returns to Senegal in 1964; works first for the radio, then as a cameraman for a TV news program. Spend most of the 70s with film politics: In 1971 he's elected secretary general of FEPACI, in 1976, in addition to that, also president of CSA; resigns from his FEPACI-post in 1977. Dies in 1987. 
Filmography: Et la neige n'etait plus (1965), La Terre et le paysan (1968), Koudu (1970), Jom ou L'Histoire d'un peuple (1981). [Olaf Möller]