OUSMANE / DEWENETI
Directed by Dyana Gaye
Senegal, 2006 , 16 min.
Originally titled Deweneti, the Wolof word for “Happy New Year,” Ousmane is about a seven-year-old talibé or Koranic school student named Ousmane, whose teacher sends him out daily to beg in the streets of Dakar. Unhappy about constantly having to con people into giving him money, he invents a form of mutual begging: a coin for a prayer or wish. He also writes to Santa Claus with a powerful wish of his own. This short film, winner of a number of best short film nominations and awards at festivals around the world, ends on a note of pure magic.
In Wolof and French with English subtitles.
