Borom sarret (Sembene, 1966)

Almost neo-realist in its outlook on social interactions, this Sembene short released the same year as Black Girl parallels that film’s themes on deception, naivete, and the class divide. Semebene follows the Wagoner (Borom sarret) as he carts around customers, one going to the maternity ward, another burying a child at a cemetery, and finally a man moving into the rich section of town. This can’t help but remind of DeSica’s Bicycle Thief in it’s focus on one man’s livelihood stripped by society’s deceiving ways and his own mistakes.