Djibril Diop Mambéty (1945-1998) was a Senegalese director, screenwriter, and actor, considered one of the most influential and original figures in African cinema. After several experimental short films, he achieved international fame with his first feature film, *Touki Bouki* (1973), a visionary and stylistically bold work that won the International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His career was marked by long periods of inactivity, interrupted by his return with *Hyènes* (1992), a powerful adaptation presented in competition at Cannes. This film inaugurated the unfinished trilogy "Stories of Little People," which was continued with the medium-length films *Le Franc* (1994), winner of the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, and *La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil*, released posthumously in 1999. Despite a sparse filmography, Mambéty is celebrated for his poetic language, non-linear narrative, and social critique, which have left an indelible mark on world cinema.