Abderrahmane Sissako |
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Sissako in 2024 |
| Born | (1961-10-13) 13 October 1961
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| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
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Abderrahmane Sissako (Arabic: عبد الرحمن سيساكو; born 13 October 1961) is a Mauritanian-born Malian film director and producer. His film Waiting for Happiness (Heremakono) was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard,[1] winning a FIPRESCI Prize. His 2006 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]
Early life and education
Sissako was born in Kiffa, Mauritania, in 1961.[4]: 191 [5]: 69 His father is a Malian from Sokolo.[4]: 195 He spent his childhood in Mali,[5]: 69 then returned to Mauritania at age 18 to live with his mother.[6]: 19 He left for Moscow in 1983 with a scholarship to study cinema at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography,[4]: 47, 191 [5]: 69 where he made his graduation film, The Game, in 1988.[4]: 192
Career
After twelve years in Moscow, Sissako moved to Paris in 1994.[6]: 19
Besides his work as a director, he also worked as a cultural Advisor for former head of state Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.[7]
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Sissako signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[8][9][10]
Personal life
Sissako is married to the Ethiopian film director Maji-da Abdi.[11]
Sissako's mother died on the last day of filming of his 2002 film Waiting for Happiness; the film is dedicated to her.[4]: 196
Filmography
| Year
|
Title
|
Role
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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
|
| Rostov-Luanda
|
Director & Writer
|
Documentary
Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film - Best Documentary Award - Special Mention
|
| 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
|
| 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
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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
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| 2006
|
Bamako
|
Director, Writer, Producer & Actor
|
Lumière Award for Best French-Language Film
International Istanbul Film Festival - FACE Award
Festival Paris Cinéma - Audience Award
|
| Daratt
|
Producer
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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, and others
|
| 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
Lumière Award for Best Film
Lumière 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
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| 2024
|
Black Tea
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Nominated - 74th Berlin International Film Festival - Golden Bear
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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
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Waiting for Happiness". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ "2014 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "Oscars 2015". Oscars 2015: what will win best foreign language film?. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Armes, Roy (2006). African Filmmaking: North and South of the Sahara. Bloomington; Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34853-1. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c Tchouaffe, Olivier-Jean (May 4, 2017). The Poetics of Radical Hope in Abderrahmane Sissako's Film Experience. Lexington Books. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Petty, Sheila (2014). Directory of World Cinema: Africa. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1-78320-392-5. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
- ^ Abderrahmane Sissako, une imposture mauritanienne Archived 2015-03-10 at the Wayback Machine, Mondafrique, 20 February 2015.
- ^ "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "African Film Festival Fosters Home-Grown Development Cinema". Voice of America News. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
External links
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