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Hyenas film image; group of people getting their photograph taken

Hyenas

Hyènes

Leading Lights

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A hallucinatory comic adaptation of Swiss avant-garde writer Friedrich Durrenmatt’s play The Visit, which in Mambéty’s imagining follows a now-rich woman returning to her poor desert hometown to propose a deal to the populace: her fortune, in exchange for the death of the man who years earlier abandoned her and left her with his child. Per its title, Hyenas is a film of sinister, mocking laughter, and a biting satire of a contemporary Senegal whose post-colonial dreams are faced with erosion by Western materialism.

The follow-up to his much acclaimed Touki-Bouki, Djibril Diop Mambéty’s Hyenas is a master at the height of his abilities. From the meticulously crafted cinematography by Matthias Kälin to the immersive score by Mambéty’s brother, Wasis Diop, the film pushed me to consider every frame of In Flames— how the visual language can capture the essence of a place, and by doing so, the spirit of its people. On a narrative level, watching the absurd struggle of the film’s protagonist, Dramaan Drameh, seeking safety in a system that is stacked against him, inspired the screenplay for my own debut.

Finally, the words of towering screen presence Ami Diakhate, who essays the role of the wealthy returning daughter of the soil Linguère Ramatou: ’The world made me a whore, so I’ll make the world a whorehouse.’ This is what it means to be from a hard place; the hard choices that you must make for survival. Karachi, the city I was born in—and the village of Colobane, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal—are places that are tied by their fight against neocolonialism, patriarchy, and the salty ocean tide. Hyenas is an essential watch for fans of world cinema, and I hope you revel in its dry humour and unique perspective on the capitalist world we all live in, where justice goes to the highest bidder.

Zarrar Khan, Leading Lights Curator

 

Supported by

Director
Cast

Mansour Diouf, Ami Diakhate, Faly Gueye, Mamadou Mahourédia Gueye, Omar Ba, Issa Ramagelissa Samb

Credits
Country of Origin

Switzerland/France/Senegal

Year

1992

Language

In Wolof, French and Japanese with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
18+
110 min
Black Cinema Comedy Drama Legendary Filmmakers
ADR Productions, Thelma Film AG, Maag Daan, MK2 Productions

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Samba Félix Ndiaye

Producer

Pierre-Alain Meier, Alain Rozanès

Screenwriter

Djibril Diop Mambéty

Cinematography

Matthias Kälin

Editor

Loredana Cristelli

Art Director

Wasis Diop

Original Music

Wasis Diop

Djibril Diop Mambéty headshot Hyenas director

Djibril Diop Mambéty

Born in Dakar in 1945, Djibril Diop Mambéty was a Senegalese director, actor, composer, and poet. Mambéty is renowned for one of the most remarkable compact bodies of work in all of cinema, consisting of two features and five short films. He is renowned for Touki Bouki (1973), a landmark in African cinema noted for its unique style and social commentary. Mambéty’s visionary storytelling and cinematic techniques have left a lasting impact on both African and global film industries until his death in 1998.

Filmography: Touki Bouki (1973)

Photo by Carlo Reguzzi

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