# Henri-Joseph Koumba Bididi

Henri-Joseph Koumba Bididi (Arabic: هنري جوزيف كومبا بيديدي; born 15 July 1957), is a Gabonese director, screenwriter and producer. He has made several critically acclaimed films including the short Le Singe Fou (2008) and Le Collier du Makoko (2011).

## Personal life

He was born on 15 July 1957 in Omboué, Gabon. He graduated in film education from École supérieure d'études cinématographiques (E.S.E.C) in France.

## Career

In 1983, Bididi worked as the in–charge of the casting for the film Équateur directed by Serge Gainsbourg. Then in 1986, he signed to the short film Le singe fou. He was awarded the prize for criticism of Arab journalists at the Carthage Film Festival and also the Great Short Film award at 10th Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in 1987.
From 1988 to 1991, Bididi was the director of the regional radio and television broadcasting unit of 'Haut-Ogoué'. From 1991 to 1994, Bididi was promoted to the new deputy director general of Radio Télévision Gabonaise (RTG). In 2000, he continued to work as a director for television and a producer for his maiden feature film, Les Couilles de l'éléphant. The film was screened at 17th Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. In 1994, Bididi directed two episodes of the TV series L’auberge du Salut.
From 2003 to 2008, he worked as Associate producer of television serial Affaires Voisins and then as the Executive producer and co-writer of the serial Les Annèes Écoles as well as directed 6 episodes. In 2011, he directed second feature film Le collier du Makoko. He was the co-writer and executive producer of the soap opera TV series Claudia et dora.
In the same year, he directed the feature film Le collier du Makoko, which is most expensive film in sub-Saharan Africa shot with a cost of 4 million euros. The film was prepared over 4 years, where the shooting took three months. The film received critical acclaim from several international film festivals and won the Special jury prize and male interpretation prize at the 2012 Khouribga festival in Morocco. It also won the Interpretation award at the 2012 Ecrans Noirs Festival in Cameroon as then Prize for best soundtrack and best poster at FESPACO 2013. In 2013, the film won Audience Award at the 2013 Masuku Film Festival in Gabon.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Genre |
| 1983 | Équateur (Ecuador) | Casting in–charge | film |
| 1986 | Singe fou (Crazy monkey) | Casting in–charge | short film |
| 1995 | L'Auberge du Salut (The Auberge du Salut) | Director | TV series |
| 2001 | Les Couilles de l'éléphant (The Balls of the Elephant) | Director, writer | feature film |
| 2002 | Djogo | Director, writer | film |
| 2003 | Affaires Voisins (Neighboring Affairs) | Associate producer | TV series |
| 2007 | Jour de la grand nuit (Day of the big night) | Director | film |
| 2008 | Le divorce (The divorce) | co-producer | short film |
| 2009 | Le Lion de Poubara (The Lion of Poubara) | co-producer | short film |
| 2003 | Les Annèes Écoles (The School Years) | Director, executive producer, co-writer | TV series |
| 2009 | Claudia et dora (Claudia and Dora) | Executive producer, co-writer | film |
| 2011 | Le collier du Makoko (The Makoko Necklace) | Director, writer, dialogue | feature film |
| 2019 | Sens Dessus Dessous (Direction Above Below) | executive producer | TV mini-series |