Warm and often funny, Faat-Kine is a vibrant tribute to what Sembène calls the “everyday heroism of African women.” Faat-Kine is a single mother who holds a job as the manager of a gasoline station, where she has worked her way up the ladder against considerable odds. Born in 1960, the year of Senegal's independence, Faat-Kine personifies aspects of Senegal's struggle for liberation. Her world revolves around her two college-age children, her own mother, her two ex-husbands, and her female friends. Sembène offers a realistic depiction of life in Senegal's capital city, where shantytowns stand beside modern apartment towers and social problems are prevalent, but it's still possible to make a good life for oneself. Sembène demonstrates that much of what holds contemporary African society together is the strength of its women. “Sembène's most hopeful comedy” (Michael Atkinson, Village Voice).