The jury, consisting of Bernardo Rondeau, Leo van Hee, and Nicole Allemann, read their statement at the Locarno Pro awards ceremony on August 10: “On the 50th anniversary of its release, we want to honor KADDU BEYKAT, the groundbreaking debut by pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye. Thanks to this restoration, this powerful and poetic first feature will now be rediscovered by new generations. With this choice, we celebrate not only the film’s enduring relevance but also the legacy of a woman who paved the way for African cinema.”
Arsenal would like to express its sincere gratitude to Locarno Heritage Partner and Cinegrell for this award.
Since 2015, Arsenal has represented Safi Faye's entire oeuvre at her request. After the screenings of KADDU BEYKAT and Fad'jal (Come and Work, Senegal 1979) at the Berlinale Forum (1976 and 1979, respectively), Faye returned to Berlin at the invitation of the Freie Universität Berlin, where she subsequently spent several months as a scholarship holder of the DAAD Artists-in-Residence Program. During this time, she was a frequent guest at the Arsenal Cinema, with which she remained on friendly terms.
The digital restoration of KADDU BEYKAT marks the first step of a new visibility of her oeuvre by Arsenal. A retrospective is planned for the end of 2026, which will provide an overview of her work. This will be followed by screenings and events in several countries and continents.
