'So Long a Letter': Angele Diabang's Hollywood-defying Senegalese hit
The Peninsula
Dakar: A crowd streamed out of a major Dakar cinema on a recent Tuesday night after watching Senegal s movie of the summer: a book adaptation with no...
Dakar: A crowd streamed out of a major Dakar cinema on a recent Tuesday night after watching Senegal's movie of the summer: a book adaptation with no special effects or Hollywood stars that nonetheless has taken box offices by storm.
Director Angele Diabang's film "So Long a Letter", a film based on one of Senegal's best-known novels, spent the last few months battling the likes of "Jurassic World: Rebirth", "F1" and "Superman" for cinematic dominance in Dakar -- and climbed its way to the top.
For a French-language movie about polygamy, female friendship and the place of women in west African society, its success was not a given.
At Pathe Dakar, where it debuted, "So Long a Letter" ("Une si longue lettre") remained at the top of the box office throughout July and August, Diabang said.
With many African countries having no more than one or two cinemas that screen new releases, each box office count is meaningful.
