The importance of Sembene's work can also be measured by the different positions he holds in numerous international organizations and also by the number of awards his work has received around the world.
Positions held at the International Film Festivals
Member and co-founder of the Senegalese Association of Film Makers
Member and co-founder of the Pan African Federation of Film Makers (Fepaci)
Member of the African Association of Culture
President of the Senegalese section of the Pen Club International
1967 Member of the Jury of the Cannes Film Festival
1968 President of the jury at the Carthage Film Festival
1975 Member of the jury at the Moscow Film Festival
1977 President of the jury at the Berlin Film Festival
1981 President of the jury at the New-Delhi Film Festival
1982 President of the jury at the Ouagadougou Film Festival (Fespaco)
1983 Member of the jury at the Venice Mostra
1984 Member of the jury at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival
1990 Member of the jury of the Finland Film Festival
1992 President of the jury at the Carthage Film Festival
Distinctions
1977 Honored at the 60th Anniversary of Soviet Cinema
1982 Honored at the 35th Anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival
1987 Honored in Pyong-Yang First Festival of Non-Aligned and Developing Countries
1991 Prize for Lifetime Creation at the Ouagadougou Film Festival
1992 "Living Legend Award" at The National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta
1993 Akira Kurosawa Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 36th San Francisco International Film Festival
2005 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chicago International Film Festival
2005 Cannes: Carrosse d'Or from L'Association des réalisateurs français
2005 "Spirit of Saint-Louis" Prize awarded by Washington-based Human Right Watch Group