Photo by Khaled Baïtiche (Tchookar)

New York, NY (February 19, 2025) – Film at Lincoln Center announces “Djibril Diop Mambéty Ciné-concerts by the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly,” a series of live performances accompanying Mambéty’s restored films Le franc (1994) and The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (1999), on March 18 and March 20. These ciné-concerts will be performed as double features of both films with a reception between performances, followed by a Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly on both days.

The great Senegalese director Djibril Diop Mambéty, who is best known for his feature-length films, 1973’s epochal Touki Bouki and 1992’s satirical tragicomedy Hyenas, made two medium-length masterpieces in the ’90s that were intended to be part of a trilogy entitled “Tales of Ordinary People,” but the filmmaker died in 1998 at the age of 53 before he could complete it. Le franc (1994) and The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (1999) punctuate, albeit too soon, Mambéty’s electric oeuvre. His final two films present rich portrayals of two dreamers as they try their luck against the cruel and absurd realities of the Dakar cityscape.

For the first time in the United States, the Oriki Collective (Yann Salètes, Mourad Baïtiche, and Michel Teyssier), together with the Senegalese vocalist Woz Kaly (founder of Missal, sang with Youssou N’Dour and toured with Touré Kunda, among others), will perform their original, live scores at Film at Lincoln Center accompanying Le franc and The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun.

Oriki’s new scores were developed over a period of five years at creative, educational, and performance residencies in France and Senegal (Dakar, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor, and Kédougou). They had numerous exchanges with the film’s producer, Mambéty’s successors, and the cast, paying close attention to the details in the director’s creative universe. The use of sabars, the traditional polyrhythms of the Serer and Wolof ethnic groups, and the clear, melodious voices characteristic of West Africa blend harmoniously with the Eastern and Western influences of the musicians in the Oriki Collective. Together with Kaly they’ve created absorbing soundscapes that expand on Mambéty’s magical realist works grounded in the political realities of Dakar, and beautifully layer on top of the films’ original soundtracks.

The films were NYFF57 Revivals selections and are Metrograph Pictures releases.

Oriki premiered their original live score for Le franc at the Les Détours de Babel Festival in Crolles, France, in March 2024, and The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun live score premiered at the La Source auditorium in Fontaine, France, in November 2021. Additional information about the Oriki Collective can be found at oriki-music.com.

Organized by Florence Almozini and Manuel Santini.

Acknowledgements
Damien Litzler, Sylvia Voser, and Waka Film. These productions have received support from the French Ministry of Cultural Affairs (DRAC), the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, the department of Isère, the Institut français in Paris and Senegal through the Villa Ndar program, and the civil societies SPEDIDAM, ADAMI, and CNM in France. The creation of these shows was co-produced by the festival Le Tympan dans l’oeil and La Source for The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun and by the Espace Paul Jargot for Le franc.

Tickets will go on sale on February 20 at 2pm, with an early access period for FLC Members starting at noon. Tickets are $25; $22 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $20 for FLC Members. Tickets for the double feature with reception on March 20 are $35; $32 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $30 for FLC Members.

FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All ciné-concerts will take place in the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.) 

Le franc Ciné-concert
Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1994, Senegal, 46m
Wolof with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere of Ciné-concert
For the first time in the U.S., the Oriki Collective (Yann Salètes, Mourad Baïtiche, and Michel Teyssier), together with the Senegalese vocalist Woz Kaly (founder of Missal, sang with Youssou N’Dour and toured with Touré Kunda, among others), perform their original, live score to accompany Le franc. In Djibril Diop Mambéty’s mid-length masterpiece, Marigo (Dieye Ma Dieye) is a down-on-his-luck musician who comes upon a lottery ticket after his beloved instrument is confiscated by his landlady. When he wins, he finds that redeeming the ticket is no easy feat. A Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly will follow the performance. 

Restored in 2K in 2019 by Waka Films with the support of the Institut Français, Cinémathèque Afrique and CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, in agreement with Teemur Mambéty, at Éclair Laboratories from the original negative.
Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00pm – Double feature with The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun Ciné-concert, including 30m reception between performances, Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly following second performance
Thursday, March 20 at 7:00pm – Double feature with The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun Ciné-concert, including 30m reception between performances, Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly following second performance

The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun Ciné-concert
Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1999, Senegal, 45m
French and Wolof with English subtitles
U.S. Premiere of Ciné-concert
For the first time in the U.S., the Oriki Collective (Yann Salètes, Mourad Baïtiche, and Michel Teyssier), together with the Senegalese vocalist Woz Kaly (founder of Missal, sang with Youssou N’Dour and toured with Touré Kunda, among others), perform their original, live score to The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun. In Mambéty’s final, posthumously released film, Sili (Lissa Balera) is a young girl with paraplegia who is determined to sell Le Soleil (The Sun, the local newspaper) on the streets of Dakar, despite the fact that boys have historically run that racket. Agile on her crutches, she cheerfully confronts a ruthless and saturated marketplace. A Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly will follow the performance. 

Restored in 2K in 2019 by Waka Films with the support of the Institut Français, Cinémathèque Afrique and CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, in agreement with Teemur Mambéty, at Éclair Laboratories from the original negative.
Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00pm – Double feature with Le franc Ciné-concert, including 30m reception between performances, Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly following second performance
Thursday, March 20 at 7:00pm – Double feature with Le franc Ciné-concert, including 30m reception between performances, Q&A with the Oriki Collective and Woz Kaly following second performance

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) is a nonprofit organization that celebrates cinema as an essential art form and fosters a vibrant home for film culture to thrive. FLC presents premier film festivals, retrospectives, new releases, and restorations year-round in state-of-the-art theaters at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. FLC offers audiences the opportunity to discover works from established and emerging directors from around the world with a passionate community of film lovers at marquee events including the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films.

Founded in 1969, FLC is committed to preserving the excitement of the theatrical experience for all audiences, advancing high-quality film journalism through the publication of Film Comment, cultivating the next generation of film industry professionals through our FLC Academies, and enriching the lives of all who engage with our programs. 

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