by Estrella Sendra
In 2019, a search for ‘African feminism’ in an internet browser would likely bring up the name Kalista Sy as the first result. The Senegalese series producer and director has stated, “I hadn’t quite realised I was a feminist. To me, I was writing as a woman because I am a woman.” Kalista Sy gained further recognition that year by being included in the BBC’s list of the 100 most inspiring and influential women from around the world. This recognition followed the launch of her first series, Maîtresse d’un homme marié (Mistress of a Married Man) also known as MDHM. The multi-modal series, which premiered on January 25, 2019, was broadcast on television and online platforms such as YouTube and the Marodi TV mobile application. It quickly went viral, attracting over five million viewers per episode. The series garnered attention beyond Senegal, drawing comparisons to Sex and the City in international media outlets such as The New York Times and the BBC.
Maîtresse d’un homme marié was not just a series, it was a movement. It became the first Senegalese women-led television series to place women at the very centre of the narrative, sharing their stories from a woman’s point of view. It was an intersectional and complex site of negotiation of feminism in contemporary Senegal, tackling themes such as sex, sexuality, infidelity, polygamy, mental health and gender violence. This was just the beginning of Kalista Sy’s journey. As the CEO of the production company Kalista TV, she continued to lead the television series production sector, creating series like Yaay 2.0 (Mother 2.0), which delves into motherhood, and Hair Lover, a series that explores the everyday lives of Senegalese women and their rivalries.
This burgeoning recognition aligns with what Prof Adejunmobi termed as “African film’s televisual turn” in 2015, and what film critic Olivier Barlet described as a transition from cinephilia to seriephilia in 2016. These observations have stemmed from the increasing digitalisation and mobility of small-screen devices. The critical nexus between television and the Internet is transforming the screen media industry in Senegal. As argued in the forthcoming chapter ‘Maîtresse d’un homme marié: Re-tracing Woman(hood) in Senegalese Screen Worlds’, which will be part of the book Contemporary African Screen Worlds edited by Lindiwe Dovey, Añulika Agina and Michael W. Thomas (Duke University Press, forthcoming October 2024),
the series reflects and creates a Senegalese world, contesting hegemonic global flows of cultural production and distribution. It reclaims these spaces first and foremost for Senegalese women in relation to stories about and for themselves, and becoming both a statement and promotion of the label ‘Made in Senegal’.
On 9 March, 2024, Kalista Sy’s work was once again in the spotlight. Her latest series, Yaay 2.0 (Mother 2.0) and Hair Lover received nine out of the 20 awards at the first edition of the Grand Prix Gaindés des series. This initiative by the Senegalese Ministry of Culture aimed to celebrate and promote the increasing number of series produced and followed by millions of fans in and beyond Senegal. Sy’s influence has even reached the UK, where audiences in London and Oxford were able to engage with her ground-breaking and inspiring work in what was her UK première. She was recently invited to a three-day series of academic and public events in London and Oxford, further solidifying her status as an award-winning entrepreneur and a pioneer in audiovisual production and distribution in Africa.
The events showcasing Kalista Sy’s work were spearheaded by me, in my capacity as a researcher with a keen interest in film, screen media, and festivals in Senegal, and as an Advisory Board member of the ERC-funded project ‘African Screen Worlds: Decolonising Film and Screen Studies’ at King’s College London. When The Garden Cinema hosted the Francophone West African Cinema season in the Spring of 2023, I met with a former collaborator, Dr Alexandra Grieve, now based at the University of Oxford and part of the African Languages, Literatures and Cultures TORCH Network.
Grieve initially extended an invitation for me to present my work at the network. However, the concept of having Kalista Sy showcase and discuss her own work emerged as a compelling alternative, and she graciously agreed to the proposal. With support from the AHRS Research grant (Research and Scholarship Development Stream – Early Career Strand), in collaboration with the TORCH Network, we welcomed Kalista Sy to the UK.
The programme started in Oxford on 26 March with the hybrid, multilingual event ‘Women and Online Television Series in Senegal: Screening of Mistress of a Married Man + Q&A with director Kalista Sy’. This was aimed at the TORCH African Languages, Literatures and Cultures Network members. The event, co-chaired by Alexandra Grieve and me, counted on excellent live interpretation from French to English by Sarah Pellé, a French lectrice based at the University of Oxford. Kalista Sy shared the origins of her short yet highly impactful career as a television producer, scriptwriter and director. “Traditionally, we do not talk about women’s stories. And I think that for the upcoming generations, it is important that we talk about our stories”, shared Kalista Sy during the event. According to Sy, the series she has created has been “a sort of therapy”, an agent of change of behaviour, first and foremost, for women, but also for all genders alike. The best experience about her series – Kalista Sy shared during the event at Oxford – is that now men come to her and say, “Thank you, your series has allowed me to better understand how I behave and how to better treat my wife.”
Equally inspiring was the screening and discussion hosted at King’s College London the following day, on 27 March. This was part of the monthly research staff seminars of the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, organised by Dr Anna Khlusova. The format mirrored that of the Oxford event, beginning with a short introduction by me, followed by a screening and discussion with Kalista Sy. On this occasion, I was joined by Tatenda Jamera, director, producer, curator, and founder of Maona, who is committed to the distribution of African cinema. Student contributions enriched the event. Constance Collin du Bocage offered live interpretation from French to English. Mencía López Guadalix acted as the official photographer. Grace Iu King Chees was the videographer. Yinuo Wo, whose artistic name is Valinor, did two live drawings of the artist, screened during the music and wine reception at the end, and awarded to Kalista Sy as a gesture of gratitude for kindly agreeing to participate in these events.
Participants did not want to leave the building, with such a degree of engagement that when asked to leave the classroom because another event was starting, they all decided to move to a different room. Some of the words they used to describe the event were “inspiring”, “insightful”, “fascinating”, “excellent” or “phenomenal”. The interest was such that Kalista Sy said she would now include subtitles in all the episodes of her series. Her words were profoundly inspiring and illustrative of her realisation of the way in which she has opened up spaces for women’s stories on screen. “When I started the series, women would come to me and ask me to tell their stories”, she said during the event. Today, through her production company, Kalista TV, she ensures women can develop professionally in leadership positions within the television industry in an environment of safety.
The programme concluded with the TNB XPO 24, organised by The New Black Film Collective, held at Rich Mix from 25 to 28 March 2024. Kalista Sy delivered a guest talk entitled ‘Kalista TV: producing audiovisual stories on women, for women and by women’, where I offered the live interpretation to English. Following the engagement with university audiences, participation in this industry event was crucial to putting Kalista Sy in the UK and on the global map of cultural production. It was also an interesting space for self-reflection for Kalista Sy, who could share her trajectory with Black talents. The four-day programme sought to showcase Black excellence and encourage increased diversity within screen industries.
Across all events, Kalista Sy emphasised the way in which MDHM offered an alternative representation of women who had either been hypersexualised or made hyper-passive in previous serious. “Every day, women in Senegal speak about all sorts of subjects, pain, concerns, desires, but these were women we did not hear on screen. In Senegal, we never hear women’s stories. They go through a lot but don’t speak much about themselves. In Senegal, people say that a woman should not talk much. What they are trying to say is that she can’t exist because if a person can’t talk or move much, it is as if that person did not exist”. Today, she is proud to see women telling their own stories and an increasing number of people supporting brands such as ‘Made in Senegal’.
A toolkit was designed and distributed to attendees in order to support the integration of Kalista Sy’s case study into learning and teaching in Higher Education. CMCI student Grace Iu King Chee has edited an 11-minute video with some highlights of the event at King’s College London.
Dr Estrella Sendra is Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries Education (Events and Festivals) at King’s College London. She is interested in bridging scholarship and practice and collaborating with higher education and the creative industries, particularly film festivals. She is the co-principal investigator of the research project ‘Decolonizing Film Festival Research in a Post-Pandemic World’, funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund, Government of Canada [NFRFR-2021-00161]. She writes about festivals, film and screen media with a regional focus on Senegal. Recent publications include Traveling to Audiences: The Decentralization of Festival Spaces at the Festival Films Femmes Afrique in Senegal (2023) and Towards Decolonized Film Festival Worlds (2023).
Women's Film and Television History Network - UK/Ireland 