Biography

Born in 1942 in N’Dougou (Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

), Moustapha Alassane graduated in mechanics. However, in the Rouch IRSH in Niamey he learns the cinematographic technique and becomes one of its main researchers. Jean Rouch

Jean Rouch

Jean Rouch was a French filmmaker and anthropologist.He is considered to be one of the founders of the cinéma vérité in France, which shared the aesthetics of the direct cinema spearheaded by Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker and Albert and David Maysles...

 allows Alassane’s education and accommodation in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where he meets the famous Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren, CC, CQ was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada...

, who teaches him the secrets of animation.
Moustapha Alassane is one of the first filmmakers in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, making Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 one of the African nations of more importance in cinema

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, close to Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

.
He was the author of the first animated films of the sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...

, directing also documentaries and fiction films. He was Head of Cinema Department at the Niamey

Niamey

-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

 University for 15 years.

Moustapha Alassane directed, in 1962, two shorts inspired in traditional tales: “Aoure” and “La Bague du roi Koda”. Representing the African culture (“Deela ou el Barka le conteur”, 1969; “Shaki”, 1973), Alassane uses also moral satire (“F.V.V.A., femme, villa, voiture, argent”, 1972), denouncing the thirst of power form the “new wealth” in Africa. Criticism and black humour are, after all, in almost all of his films. The frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 is his favourite animal and protagonist of most of his animated films, because Alassane believes it is funnier to animate frogs rather than humans.
Directed around thirty animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

, documentary

Documentary

A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...

 and fiction films.

Currently, his workshop is settled in Tahoua

Tahoua

Tahoua is a city in Niger and the administrative center of the Department of Tahoua and the larger Tahoua Region. It has a population of 99,900 . The city is primarily a market town for the surrounding agricultural area, and a meeting place for the Tuareg people from the north and the Fulani people...

, a calm city from Niger’s

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 interior, far away from the bustle of the capital Niamey

Niamey

-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

, showing some of the humbleness that one of the most important African directors has. To work, Alassane uses several materials, such as wood, metal or wire, glue, fabric or sponge.

Numerous retrospectives of Alassane’s career have been made in several international film festivals, all over the world.

Moustapha Alassane was made Knight of the Legion of Honour, during the Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

in 2007.

As director

• 1962: La Bague du roi Koda
• 1962: Aoure
• 1962: La Pileuse de Mil
• 1962: Le piroguier
• 1963: La mort du Gandji
• 1964: L’arachide de Santchira
• 1966: Le Retour d'un aventurier
• 1966: Bon voyage Sim
• 1967: Malbaza
• 1969: Les contre Bandiers
• 1970: Deela ou Albarka
• 1971: Jamyya
• 1972: FVVA: Femme, villa, voiture, argent
• 1972: Abimbola ou Shaki
• 1973: Siberi
• 1974: Soubane
• 1974: Toula ou Le génie des eaux
• 1975: Zaboa
• 1978: Samba le grand
• 1982: Agwane mon Village
• 1982: Kankamba ou le semeur de discorde
• 1982: Gourimou
• 2000: Soolo
• 2000: Adieu Sim
• 2001: Les magiciens de l'Ader
• 2001: Agaissa
• 2001: Kokoa
• 2003: Tagimba

Films about Moustapha Alassane

Animation et creation: Univers du cinema de Moustapha Alassane (2002), documentary directed by Debra S. Boyd,
Moustapha Alassane, cinéaste du possible (2009), documentary directed by Silvia Bazzoli and Christian Lelong.

External links

• Moustapha Alassane in ClapNoir (french)
• Moustapha Alassane in Africultures (french)
• Moustapha Alassane in African Success
• Moustapha Alassane in a "La Gazette" article (french)
• Le Retour D'Un Aventurier and Moustapha Alassane in the 5th "Festival des Cinémas Africains" (french)
• Moustapha Alassane invited to the 2nd Edition of "Festival culturel panafricain" (Panaf) (french)