Abderrahmane Sissako
Abderrahmane Sissako |
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Born |
(1961-10-13) 13 October 1961 Kiffa, Mauritania |
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Nationality |
Mauritanian |
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Occupation |
Film director, screenwriter, producer |
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Abderrahmane Sissako (born 13 October 1961) is a film director and producer who has often worked in Mali and France. Sissako is, along with Ousmane Sembène, Souleymane Cissé, Idrissa Ouedraogo and Djibril Diop Mambety, one of the few filmmakers from Africa to reach a measure of international influence. His film Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard,[1] winning the FIPRESCI Prize. His 2007 film Bamako received much attention. Sissako's themes include globalisation, exile and the displacement of people. His 2014 film Timbuktu was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival[2] and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[3]
Biography
Soon after his birth Sissako's family emigrated to Mali, his father's country, where he completed part of his primary and secondary education. Sissako returned briefly to Mauritania, his mother's land, in 1980. Then he left for Moscow, where he studied cinema at the VGIK (Federal State Film Institute) from 1983 to 1989. Sissako settled in France at the beginning of the 1990s.
Besides his work as a director, he also works as a cultural advisor for Mauritanian head of state Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.[4]
Filmography
Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
1990 |
Sex et perestroïka |
Assistant director |
Directed by François Jouffa & Francis Leroi |
1991 |
Le jeu |
Director & Writer |
Short |
1993 |
Oktyabr |
Director & Writer |
Short |
1995 |
Petite météorologie ou Sept histoires de temps |
Actor |
Short directed by Charles Castella |
Molom, conte de Mongolie |
Production designer |
Directed by Marie-Jaoul de Poncheville |
1997 |
Africa Dreaming |
Director |
TV Series (1 Episode) |
Documenta X - Die Filme |
Director |
Directed with Charles Burnett, Harun Farocki and Aleksandr Sokurov |
1998 |
La Vie Sur Terre |
Director, Writer & Actor |
San Francisco International Film Festival - Golden Spire Fribourg International Film Festival - Ecumenical Jury Award Fribourg International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize - Special Mention Fribourg International Film Festival - Grand Prix Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou - Air Afrique Special Award Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou - INALCO Award Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou - Special Mention Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou - TELCIPRO Award - Feature Film Taormina Film Fest - Silver Charybdis |
Rostov-Luanda |
Director & Writer |
Documentary Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film - Best Documentary Award - Special Mention |
2002 |
Waiting for Happiness |
Director & Writer |
Cannes Film Festival - Foreign Cineaste of the Year Cannes Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema - Best Film Gijón International Film Festival - Special Jury Award Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film - Youth Jury Emile Cantillon Award Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou - Grand Prize - Etalon de Yennega Paris Biennal of Arab Cinema - IMA Grand Prize Nominated - Gijón International Film Festival - Grand Prix Asturias - Best Feature Nominated - Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film - Golden Bayard - Best Film |
Abouna |
Executive producer |
Directed by Mahamat Saleh Haroun |
2003 |
Le silence de la forêt |
Producer |
Directed by Bassek Ba Kobhio & Didier Ouenangare |
Malenkie lyudi |
Producer |
Directed by Nariman Turebaev |
2006 |
Bamako |
Director, Writer, Producer & Actor |
Lumières Award for Best French-Language Film International Istanbul Film Festival - FACE Award Festival Paris Cinéma - Audience Award |
Daratt |
Producer |
Directed by Mahamat Saleh Haroun |
2008 |
8 |
Director & Writer |
Directed with Jane Campion, Gael García Bernal, Jan Kounen, Mira Nair, Gaspar Noé, Gus Van Sant & Wim Wenders |
Stories on Human Rights |
Director |
Directed with Marina Abramović, Sergei Bodrov, Shira Geffen, Jia Zhangke, Etgar Keret, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Pipilotti Rist, Walter Salles, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Jasmila Žbanić... |
2010 |
Je vous souhaite la pluie |
Director |
TV Short |
2014 |
Timbuktu |
Director & Writer |
César Award for Best Film César Award for Best Director César Award for Best Original Screenplay Cannes Film Festival - François Chalais Prize Cannes Film Festival - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Lumières Award for Best Film Lumières Award for Best Director Chicago International Film Festival - Best Director Globes de Cristal Award - Best Film African-American Film Critics Association - Best World Cinema Jerusalem Film Festival - Best Feature French Syndicate of Cinema Critics - Best Film Grand Prix de l'UCC Nominated - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated - Cannes Film Festival - Palme d'Or Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated - Cairo International Film Festival - Best Arabic Film Nominated - Louis Delluc Prize - Best Film Nominated - Hamburg Film Festival - Art Cinema Award |
Jury
In addition to feature films and short films, Sissako has served on the jury of the Premiers Plans festival in Angers in January 2007.
Bibliography
- Thomas Sotinel, « Abderrahmane Sissako. Pour en finir avec le cinéma du Nord », Le Monde, 21 octobre 2006, p. 19
- Samuel Lelièvre, « Les cinémas africains, Abderrahmane Sissako et les frontières du monde », CinémAction, no. 137, 2010, pp. 182–185.
References
External links