TEHRAN-The 1988 Senegalese war-drama film “The Camp at Thiaroye” written and directed by Ousmane Sembène and Thierno Faty Sow will be screened at the cinematheque of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) on Sunday.

The cinematheque will show the movie at 3 p.m. and it is free for the public to attend. TMoCA is located next to Laleh Park on N. Karegar St., ILNA reported.

The film depicts the Thiaroye massacre, which happened in Thiaroye, Dakar, in 1944. The film entered the competition at the 45th Venice International Film Festival, in which it won the Grand Jury Prize. The film received positive reviews at the time it was released and continues to be heralded by scholars as an important historical documentation of the Thiaroye massacre. The film is a criticism and indictment of the French colonial system. It was banned in France for a decade and censored in Senegal as well.

A powerful historical drama that illustrates colonialism’s intrinsic links with fascism and racism, “Camp de Thiaroye” is based on real-life events and takes place during the Second World War. After a Senegalese platoon of French soldiers returns home, only to be placed in Military holding camps, the film draws a direct visual comparison to internment camps. When the soldiers begin to complain and learn of not receiving fair pay for their labor, they plan an uprising. Sembeme’s film reclaims Senegalese history by broadcasting this under-discussed atrocity.

The film is a forceful epic political drama, based on real events and their own experiences. The story deals with injustice, hypocrisy, colonialism, and racism, culminating in a massacre. It shows white oppression resuming as a regiment of West African Armed Forces soldiers return to an army post in Senegal from the European war front where they faced death every day, only to now face indignities and racism from the French they helped liberate from fascism.

SS/SAB