Mariama Sylla Faye: Tirailleur Marc Gueye, ma plume, mon combat

FESPACO 2011 WATCH: Official Competition - Documentary

Mariama Sylla Faye, a product of Senegalese cinema beginning at the age of seven years old, spent a great deal of time in the world of film as her mother worked at the film bureau. In the 1970s she watched the films that her mother projected on a white sheet in the family courtyard. Ever since she has had a passion for cinema. Since 1996 Mariama has worked as a filmmaker and producer, and in 2003 she decided to create the production company Guiss-Guiss Communication, which has produced five films and three are currently works in progress.

Synopsis of the film: Tirailleur Marc Gueye, ma plume mon combat

Marc Gueye, a veteran of the Indochina War from 1953 to 1955, in complete secrecy, writes on empty cigarette packets about his real-life experiences and the horrors of the conflict. And carefully hides them away.

At the end of the war, he collects his writings in a manuscript. It took thirty-seven years before he saw his book published. Until this day there has never been a written text by an African veteran of the Indochina War about these courageous black troops. His memoir (devoir de mémoire) is a lesson for the younger generation. Now seventy-seven years old, Marc Gueye has not lost his fighting spirit.

The film reveals a soul glowing of generosity and wisdom, fundamentally opposed to war. This deeply optimistic man defines himself as a writer soldier.

Text and image from Guiss-Guiss Com

French to English translation by Beti Ellerson

Links:

Un tirailleur sénégalais dans la guerre d'Indochine: 1953-1955 by Marc Guèye