Souleymane Cissé

Souleymane Cissé (21 April 1940 – 19 February 2025) was a Malian movie director and screenwriter. He was thought to be one of the first generation of African filmmakers. He was called "Africa's greatest living filmmaker". His movie Yeelen has been called "the greatest African [movie] ever made." 

Other movies that he directed were Den muso (1975), Baara (1978), Finye (1982), Waati (1995) and Tell Me Who You Are (2009).

Career
His career began as an assistant projectionist for a documentary on the arrest of Patrice Lumumba. He studied at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography. 

He was the first director from sub-Saharan Africa to receive an award at the Cannes Film Festival. He was honored in 1987 for Yeelen. He was awarded the Carrosse d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival in 2023. In April 2024, it was reported that Cissé's Carrosse d'Or award was stolen in Mali.

Cissé was president of UCECAO, the Union of Creators and Entrepreneurs of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts of Western Africa. His younger brother is movie director Alioune Ifra Ndiaye.

Death
Cissé died on 19 February 2025 at a hospital in Bamako, Mali at the age of 84.

References

Other websites


Category:1940 births
Category:2025 deaths
Category:Malian people
Category:African writers
Category:Screenwriters
Category:Movie directors