Abderrahmane Sissako

Abderrahmane Sissako’s committed humanist oeuvre explores the complex relations between the Global North and South, and the plight of a suffering African continent. Born in 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania, he spent his childhood in Mali. In 1983, he moved to Moscow to study at the VGIK, the Soviet Union’s renowned University of Cinematography, where he made his first two short films: The Game (1989) and October (1993), which was presented in the Un Certain Regard program at the Festival de Cannes. In response to a request for films of the fables of Jean de La Fontaine, Sissako made The Camel and the Floating Sticks (1995), which was followed by Sabriya (1996), a short for the Africa Dreamings. In 1998, he shot Life on Earth, a return to his homeland that echoes the texts of Aimé Césaire. His Waiting for Happiness (2002) won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes, the Yennenga Stallion at the FESPACO in Ouagadougou, and the Grand Prix at the Arab Cinema Biennial in Paris. Shot at his family’s home in Mali, Bamako (2006) was selected out of competition at Cannes. Timbuktu (2014) was presented in the Official Competition at Cannes and generated great enthusiasm by becoming the first Mauritanian film to compete for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In France, the film won seven César Awards, including those for Best Director and Best Film.