La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil (1998)

Original title

La petite vendeuse de soleil

Directed by

Djibril Diop Mambéty

Genre

drama film, family film

Country

Senegal, Germany, France, Switzerland

Runtime

45 min

Rated

NR

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 27 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young girl who uses crutches decides to sell newspapers on the streets of Dakar. She faces competition from the boys who already sell papers there.

inspiringhopefulgentledeterminedobservantunderstatedearthybittersweet

What happens

La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil (or The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun) is a 1999 Senegalese drama film, directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty which premiered after his death in 1998. La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil is a film exalting the lives and promise found among ordinary Senegalese. It depicts a young beggar girl, Sili, who is also a paraplegic, who on crutches, confidently makes her way through a city of obstacles, becoming the first girl to sell the "Le Soleil" national daily newspaper in the competitive world of young male newspaper vendors. Mambéty dedicated this last film to "the courage of street children". The scenes are expertly played by non-professional actors and with the participation of the street children. The film is part of a series entitled "Tales of Ordinary People". It was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999 and as part of the New York Film Festival in 2019. La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil was originally intended as the second film of a trilogy under the title, Tales of Ordinary People. However, Mambety's untimely death in 1998 prevented the completion of the third film. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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