Morocco names film prize after a Senegalese

The prize of the African film festival in the Moroccan city of Khouribga, 173 kilometres from Rabat, has been named after Senegalese film-maker Ousmane Semb, a year after his death. The decision was unanimously made by members of the festival organising committee. Born in 1923 in Ziguinchor, a city in Casamance, Semb, writer, director, actor and scriptwriter, helped to popularise Africa and its rich heritage. In 1966, he released his long-featured film, which is also the first “Black African” film in the continent “La Noir de…”. “Taaw”, “le Mandat”, “Moolaad and “Guelwaar” are also among films made by the late Semb. The Khouribga annual Festival, Africa’s Cannes, was instituted in 1977.