Set in Sembène’s home territory of Casamance, Emitaï is a deceptively simple story of resistance and rebellion chronicling historical oppression by the French in West Africa.
During the Second World War, French troops arrive in a Diola village to enlist the men and confiscate the rice. Instead of submitting to the French tax, the women hide their harvest. The situation worsens as the French resort to violence, firing on local villagers. The Diola elders soon decide on the best response to the increasingly harsh French policies: to consult and pray to Emitaï, the god of thunder. An electrifying narrative of rebellion and revolt,
Emitaï marked the first in a series of films from Sembène on anti-colonial resistance.