FILM SCREENINGS

Njangaan

1974. Senegal. Directed by Mahama Johnson Traoré. Written by Traoré and Cherif Adrame Seck. With Fatim Diagne, Mame N'Diaye, Mody Gueye. "Njangaan is the name given to children attending the Dara or the Koteb, the schools of Islamic teaching.... The Marabout (teachers) exploit the families in the name of religion, the children are not educated but become professional beggars, and are in fact a form of unpaid labor. In the film, my purpose is not to attack Islam but to reveal that religious ascendancy is so strong that even the present institutions do not dare to rise against it" (Traoré). In Wolof, French; English subtitles. 86 min.