Ndar, Saga Waalo

On the streets of Saint-Louis, Senegal, it’s impossible to ignore the island’s colonial history. Through filmmaker Ousmane William Mbaye we meet residents who are experts in their past, and who amongst themselves are trying to decide how this past should be remembered.

On the north-west coast of Senegal, at the mouth of Senegal River is an island named Saint-Louis, but its first name was Ndar. On the ground, in the architecture, it’s undeniable: this was colonised land. And, we – the viewer – make ourselves comfortable on the back of a modest horse-drawn carriage. “Welcome to Saint-Louis”, says our driver, “We’ll start our trip here”. And so we’re off, beginning on the avenue that French and Mulatto people once lived on.

Through a combination of talking head conversations with Saint-Louisans and historians, archival footage and imagery, and shots of the island as it is today, we learn of Saint-Louis’ complicated, violent and deep history. Its position, as a port island which from 1673–1902 was the capital of what was then called French West Africa, meant it became a sort of colonial testing ground, using education, language, religion and mixed heritage to assimilate populations. 

Where Ousmane William Mbaye’s Ndar, Saga Waalo really shines is in its expression of current tensions amongst Saint-Louisian’s: what were the costs of French colonisation, and how are they considered and remembered differently across the island. Mbaye aptly captures a community’s negotiation of its colonial legacy.

– Tomiwa Folorunso

Trailer

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