What fear — whether it’s personal, or one related to the development, financing, production or distribution of your film — did you have to confront and conquer in the making of your movie?

When we started making this film, we had relatively small ambitions: we wanted to make a simple biography of a man who I knew and greatly admired. But once we got into the story, we realized that the only way to make this movie was to attempt to match the level of artistic and social commitment and integrity Ousmane Sembene demonstrated in his films. But we knew that we didn’t have the skill or experience to make a film that adhered to those high standards. Our biggest fear was that we would let Sembene down.

[PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday January 23 at 3:00 pm — Yarrow Hotel Theatre]

Sundance 2015 Responses