Xala

Thierno Laye plays El Hadj, a middle-aged Senegalese businessman who sits on the Dakar Chamber of Commerce. The members of the board have inherited their positions from their departing European overlords – but they’re corrupt, quietly bought off with briefcases full of cash. El Hadj decides to marry a third wife, but on the evening of the wedding he suddenly discovers himself impotent (xala translates to sexual impotence in Wolof). Thinking he’s cursed, he goes to various healers, but without results. Based on the novel of the same name by Sembène, this film upset the government so much that 11 cuts were made before it was released in Dakar.