Winner of the 2004 Un Certain Regard Award in Cannes, Sembene’s last film delivers an open attack on the tradition of female circumcision still practiced in Muslim and Christian communities in East and West Africa. A wonderful testament to Sembene’s belief in the cinema as the most effective means of social change in Africa, Mooladé describes the brutal impact of circumcision on adolescent subjects and the ostracisation suffered by the mothers and fathers who resist the violent practice. Mooladé was intended to be the second film in a trilogy designed to honor the lives of African women, who Sembene referred to as the "heroines of everyday life.”

This documentary captures Sembene, at the ripe age of 79, working 12 hour days in a remote African village where midday temperatures usually exceeded 100 degrees. Actors, production personnel, camera assistants, and others connected with the film describe the challenges presented by the scarcity of funding and the difficulties of shooting on location.