by Moussa Sène Absa
Senegal / 1993 / 90mins / Coming of Age, Drama / French
Ca Twiste a Poponguine is set in the mid '60s and follows the exploits of two gangs of teenagers who adopt Western ways. Each gang only has three members. Les Ins take their names from French pop stars and have a group of girls by their side. The Kings, the rival group, are styled after American rhythm and blues players, and while they may not have girls, they have the only record player in the area.
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Moussa Sène Absa
Moussa Sène Absa was born in 1958 in Senegal. After starting a career as an actor, he won awards for his short films, documentaries, and features. He is also a painter and author. He exemplifies the “homo senegalensis”, an ideal of an artist, which was dear to Léopold Sédar Senghor, rooted in tradition but fully willing to use what the Western world has to offer. Ironically, Absa is more famous internationally than he is in his own country despite exposure to a large audience in Senegal through the TV series Goorgoorlu, written by TT Fons and produced by the national Senegalese television (RTS). His first film Le Prix du mensonge (The Price of Lies) earned him the Tanit d'Argent (Silver Tanit) at the Journées cinématographiques de Carthage (Carthage Film Festival) in 1988. Tableau Ferraille, released in 1996, earned him several awards including Best Cinematography at FESPACO in 1997. His 2002 romantic comedy, Madame Brouette, won the Poitou Charentes Award at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in 2003.
His last two feature films, Teranga Blues and Yoole were selected in competition at FESPACO in 2007 and 2013. Learn More