Not me. Yuck. Especially not a fiction film. But it happened. In 2004 at the New York Film Festival I saw "Moolaadé" and it blew me away. In the director's words, "It's not a film about genital cutting; it's a film about freedom." 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and a must-see.

Senegalese Ousmane Sembene (1923-2007) is a key figure in world cinema history. On Tuesday night the French Institute paid tribute to the director with a work-in-progress documentary on his life, reminiscences, readings, and a screening of his 1964 short, "Borom Sarret" to a musical accompaniment by DJ Spooky. Afterwards, African food and drink were plentiful at a reception in "Le Skyroom."

There, we took snapshots of the participants.