Following the launch of the CanalOlympia network (Vivendi) in 2017, Mati Diop's success at the Cannes Film Festival, the creation of a training center by director Alain Gomis, and the upcoming opening of a Pathé Gaumont multiplex, Senegalese cinema appears to have a bright future ahead.
The year 2021 was also an opportunity for Senegal to stand out at the latest edition of FESPACO, the premier film festival in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. It won four special prizes, including the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) prize for "Best Feature Film" for the film "Baanum Nafi," presented to director Mamadou Dia.
Building on this momentum, the CINEMAREKK association and the French Institute in Dakar, with the support of the Ministry of Culture & Communication and the Senegalese Film Commission, joined forces to create DAKAR COURT, an international festival dedicated to short films.
Since 2018, the festival has been rewarding films selected following a call for projects reserved for African and diaspora fiction short films.
The festival is also an educational program designed to promote access to culture and its institutions for all Senegalese children.
More information about the films in competition here