Contents
Abderrahmane Sissako
Directing Timbuktu and Bamako, films examining power through the lives of ordinary people.
Waiting for Happiness · Bamako
- Born
- 13 October 1961
- Birthplace
- Kiffa, Mauritania
More people
Abderrahmane Sissako
Abderrahmane Sissako’s cinema connects West African settings with questions of exile, economic authority and everyday dignity.
Early life
Between countries
Born in Mauritania and spent much of his childhood in Mali.
Moscow training
Studied filmmaking at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography.
Career
- 1980s–1990s
Early films
Made student films and shorts before establishing a career in France.
- 2002
Festival recognition
Waiting for Happiness received a critics' prize at Cannes.
- 2006
Political drama
Bamako staged a trial of international financial institutions.
- 2014–2015
Timbuktu
The film reached Cannes competition and received an Oscar nomination.
Selected work
Waiting for Happiness
A coastal town becomes a place of departure and isolation.
Bamako
A courtyard hosts a fictional trial of the World Bank and IMF.
Timbuktu
Residents live under the prohibitions of an extremist occupation.
Beyond work
Family
Married Ethiopian filmmaker Maji-da Abdi.
Personal dedication
Dedicated Waiting for Happiness to his mother, who died during its production.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Cannes: films and awards ↗Photo: Elena Ternovaja. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
