Biography

Raised in a Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 family, Souleymane Cissé was a passionate cinephile from childhood. He attended secondary school in Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

, and returned to Mali in 1960 after national independence.

His film career began as an assistant projectionist for a documentary on the arrest of Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Lumumba

Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...

. This triggered his desire to create films of his own, and he obtained a scholarship to the Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 school of Cinema and Television.

In 1970 he returned to Mali once more, and joined the Ministry of Information as a cameraman, where he produced documentaries and short films.

In 1972, he produced his first medium-length film, Cinq jours d’une vie (Five Days in a Life), which tells the story of a young man who drops out of a Qur'an

Qur'an

The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

ic school and becomes a petty thief living on the street. Cinq Jours premiered at the Carthage Film Festival

Carthage Film Festival

The Carthage Film Festival is a biannual October film festival hosted by the government of Tunisia. It alternates with the Damascus International Film Festival....

.

In 1974, he produced his first full-length film in the Bambara language

Bambara language

Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...

, Den muso (The Girl), the story of a young mute girl who has been rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

d. The girl becomes pregnant, and is rejected both by her family and by the child's father. Den Muso was banned

Censorship

thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 by the Malian Minister of Culture, and Cissé was arrested and jailed for having accepted French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 funding.

In 1978, Cissé produced Baara (Work), which received the Yenenga's Talon prize at Fespaco in 1979.

In 1982, he produced Finyé (Wind), which tells the story of dissatisfied Malian youth rising up against the establishment. This earned him his second Yenenga's Talon, at 1983's Fespaco.

Between 1984 and 1987, he produced Yeelen

Yeelen

Yeelen is a 1987 Malian film directed by Souleymane Cissé. It is filmed in the Bambara and Fula languages, and is based on a legend told by the Bambara people...

(Light),a coming-of-age film which won the Jury Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival

1987 Cannes Film Festival

- Jury :*Yves Montand*Danièle Heymann*Elem Klimov*Gérald Calderon*Jeremy Thomas*Jerzy Skolimowski*Nicola Piovani*Norman Mailer*Theo Angelopoulos-Feature film competition:...

.

In 1995, he produced Waati

Waati

Waati is a 1995 Malian drama film directed by Souleymane Cissé. It was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sidi Yaya Cissé - Solofa* Mariame Amerou Mohamed Dicko - Nandi at 6 years* Balla Moussa Keita - Teacher* Vusi Kunene...

(Time) which competed for the Palme d'Or

Palme d'Or

The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...

 at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival

1995 Cannes Film Festival

-Jury:*Jeanne Moreau *Gianni Amelio *Jean-Claude Brialy *Nadine Gordimer *Gaston Kabore *Michele-Ray Gavras *Emilio Garcia Riera *Philippe Rousselot *John Waters...

.

Cissé is president of UCECAO, the Union of Creators and Entrepreneurs of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Western Africa.

Filmography

• L’homme et ses idoles (short film, 1975)
• L’aspirant (short film, 1968)
• Source d’inspiration (short film, 1968)
• Dégal à Dialloubé (1970)
• Fête du Sanké (1971)
• Cinq jours d’une vie (1972)
• Den muso (1975)
• Baara (1978)
• Chanteurs traditionnels des Iles Seychelles
  Seychelles
  Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
  
   (1978)
• Finye
  The Wind (1982 film)
  The Wind is a 1982 Malian drama film directed by Souleymane Cissé. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Fousseyni Sissoko - Bah* Goundo Guissé - Batrou* Balla Moussa Keita - Le Gouverneur Sangaré...
  
  (1982)
• Yeelen
  Yeelen
  Yeelen is a 1987 Malian film directed by Souleymane Cissé. It is filmed in the Bambara and Fula languages, and is based on a legend told by the Bambara people...
  
  (1987)
• Waati
  Waati
  Waati is a 1995 Malian drama film directed by Souleymane Cissé. It was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Sidi Yaya Cissé - Solofa* Mariame Amerou Mohamed Dicko - Nandi at 6 years* Balla Moussa Keita - Teacher* Vusi Kunene...
  
  (1995)
• Tell Me Who You Are
  Tell Me Who You Are (film)
  Tell Me Who You Are is a 2009 Malian drama film directed by Souleymane Cissé. It was given a special screening at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival....
  
  (2009)

External links