Le Sénégal et le Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres

Directed by Paulin Soumanou Vieyra

Promotional newsreel of Dakar, selected to host the first edition of the World Festival of Black Arts. The report features the history of the city, its architectural and commercial evolution, its air and maritime connections, its natural beauty, hotels and tourist attractions. Organised by Léopold Sédar Senghor on the initiative of the magazine “Présence Africaine” and the African Cultural Society, it was an unprecedented event in the cultural history of the African continent. The first festival was held in Dakar on 1-24 April 1966. Participants included André Malraux, Aimé Césaire, Jean Price-Mars, Duke Ellington, Joséphine Baker, Langston Hughes, Aminata Fall, Robert Hayden and many others. All the arts were represented: literature, music, dance, film and visual arts.