Encounters 2021 Header Info

Katy Lena Ndiaye

Director: Money, Freedom

Money, Freedom, A Story of the CFA Franc is the new film by Katy Lena Ndiaye. A feature-length documentary that looks at the CFA franc, a currency inherited from the French colonial system and still in circulation in a dozen African countries. The film mixes archives, interviews with economists, intellectuals and former politicians and offers us a journey through the history of the continent, from the end of the 19th century to the present day.

Lena Ndiaye’s previous films, Time is on our side, Awaiting for men and Traces women imprints, have won awards at numerous festivals. In parallel to her career as a documentary filmmaker, Lena Ndiaye has worked for many years in television. She presented and directed the magazines Reflets Sud and Afrique Plurielle (from 2000 to 2018). Programs on African issues (culture and society…) broadcast on TV5 Monde and RTBF (the Belgian French-speaking public broadcaster).

Lena Ndiaye is currently developing IndigoMood films, a production company founded in 2013 and based in Senegal.