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{{Short description|1968 Senegalese feature film by Osmane Sembène}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Mandabi
|image=Mandabi poster (French).jpg
|caption=French poster
| director       = [[Ousmane Sembène]]
| producer       = Ousmane Sembène
| writer         = Ousmane Sembène
| starring       = [[Makhourédia Guèye]]<br />[[Ynousse N'Diaye]]<br />[[Isseu Niang]]
| cinematography = Paul Soulignac
| editing        = Gilou Kikoïne<br />Max Saldinger
| distributor    =
| released       = {{Film date|1968||||2021|||remastered version}}
|runtime= 92 minutes
| country        = France<br />Senegal
| language       = [[Wolof language|Wolof]]<br />French
}}
'''''Mandabi''''' (French: '''''Le Mandat''''', "The Money Order") is a 1968 film written and directed by Senegalese filmmaker [[Ousmane Sembène]]. The film is based on Sembène's novel ''[[The money-order : with, White genesis|The Money-Order]]'' and is the director's first film in his native [[Wolof language]]. Since most of the Senegalese population at the time did not understand French, Sembène wanted to create cinema for Wolof speakers. This is believed to be the first full-length African language film from West Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pfaff|first=Francoise|date=1993|title=The Uniqueness of Ousmane Sembène's Cinema|url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cibs/vol11/iss1/3/|journal=Contributions in Black Studies: A Journal of African and Afro-American Studies|volume= 11|pages=13–19}}</ref>
==Plot==
An unemployed Senegalese [[Muslim]], Ibrahima Dieng, lives with his two wives and seven children in [[Dakar]]. His nephew, Abdou, sends him a [[money order]] from Paris worth 25,000 [[French franc|francs]], which he has saved from working as a street sweeper. Ibrahima is to keep some of the money for himself, save a portion for his nephew, and give a portion to his sister.
However, Ibrahima faces numerous difficulties trying to obtain the money order. Not having an ID, Ibrahima must go through several levels of Senegalese [[bureaucracy]] to try to get one, only to fail after spending money he does not have. Meanwhile, neighbors come over asking for money and Ibrahima is further indebted. In the end, he is swindled by Mbaye, his unscrupulous nephew, who promised to cash the money order for him. Mbaye sells Ibrahima's house to a French man and steals the money order, saying that he was pickpocketed. The film leaves Ibrahima in debt and without a home. The film explores themes of [[neocolonialism]], religion, corruption, and relationships in Senegalese society.
== Remastered print ==
After the film had not been accessible to cinema audiences for years, it was [[remaster]]ed in [[4K resolution]] and presented at the 2019 [[Lumiere festival|Lumière Festival]] in Lyon, France.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aftab|first=Kaleem|date=9 June 2021|title=Mandabi review: Wolof masterwork ripe for rediscovery|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/mandabi-1968-ousmane-sembene-restored-wolof-masterwork|access-date=2021-06-14|website=BFI|language=en}}</ref> In June 2021, this remastered version was shown in cinemas in the [[United Kingdom]]. [[The Criterion Collection]] soon released the film on [[Blu-ray]] and [[DVD]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mandabi |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/29067-mandabi |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=The Criterion Collection}}</ref>
==Accolades==
*[[29th Venice International Film Festival]] 1968: Special Jury Prize<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VocdAQAAIAAJ&q=%22prix+special+du+jury%22+mandabi|title=Ousmane Sembène: une conscience africaine : genèse d'un destin hors du commun|first=Samba|last=Gadjigo|date=April 11, 2007|publisher=Homnisphères|isbn=9782915129243|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IxMIAQAAMAAJ&q=%22prix+special+du+jury%22+mandabi|title=Hommage à Patrick G. Ilboudo|date=April 11, 1995|publisher=Regard|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqEqAAAAYAAJ&q=%22prix+special+du+jury%22+mandat|title=Dossiers du cinéma: Cinéastes|first1=Jean-Louis|last1=Bory|first2=Claude Michel|last2=Cluny|date=April 11, 1972|publisher=Casterman|via=Google Books}}</ref>
*Soviet Directors Prize from the 1968 [[Tashkent Film Festival]] of African and Asian Cinema<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Wakeman|editor1-first=John|title=World Film Directors Volume II: 1945-1985|date=1987|publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company|The H. W. Wilson Company]]|isbn=0824207637|page=1005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aEYAAAAIAAJ|access-date=22 December 2018}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Cinema of Senegal]]
==References==
<references />
==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0063268|Mandabi}}
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/7283-mandabi-paper-trail ''Mandabi: Paper Trail''] an essay by Tiana Reid at the [[Criterion Collection]]
{{Authority control}}
{{Ousmane Sembène}}
[[Category:1968 films]]
[[Category:1968 drama films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ousmane Sembène]]
[[Category:Films set in Senegal]]
[[Category:1960s French-language films]]
[[Category:Senegalese drama films]]
[[Category:Wolof-language films]]
[[Category:French multilingual films]]
[[Category:1960s multilingual films]]