Filmmaker Idrissa Ouedraogo
Burkina Faso film director Idrissa Ouedraogo, born in 1954, is widely considered one the top members of a new generation of African filmmakers.The son of a civil servant, Ouedraogo studied English at the University of Ouagadougou in the capital city of Burkina Faso. Playwrighting soon piqued his interest in film. This manifested to him enrolling in the Institut Africain d’Education Cinematographique de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s film institute. He practiced his craft with several short films such as:
Pourquoi? (Why) (1981)
Poko (1981)
Les Écuelles (The Platters) (1983)
Les Funerailles du Larle Naba (Larle Naba’s Funeral) (1984)
Ouagadougou, Ouaga Deux Roues (1985)
Issa Le Tisserand (Issa the Weaver) (1985)
Obi (1991)
Africa, Mon Afrique (Africa, My Africa) (1994)
Gorki (1994)
Les Parias du cinemas (1997)Scenarios from the Sahel (2001)
He later studied film at the Gorki Institute in Russia and at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques (IDHEC) in Paris. Ouedraogo graduated from IDHEC in 1985 but stayed in France to pursue a Ph.D. under the direction of anthropologist Jean Rouche (who is also linked to director Safi Faye).
As a film director, Ouedraogo produced widely acclaimed films. He is one the most technically accomplished film directors in Africa. His first film to receive international limelight was Yam Daabo (The Choice) (1986).The movie opened at 1986 Cannes Film Festival in France.Set in Burkina Faso, the film starkly showcases the plight of hunger and the actions that are taken due to desperation.
Yaaba (1989) won the Sakura Gold Prize at the Tokyo Film Festival.Witchcraft and wizardry, a sage old woman, friendship, and being an outcast are just some of ingredients in this moving film.
Tilai (The law) (1990) has all the components of ill fated love affair, major family dynamics and retributions. It resembles a Shakespearean tragedy, beautifully composed by its director.
Silver Bear award winner during the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival, Samba Traore (1992) is about regrets and how past illegal actions haunts the protagonist. Fear envelops him daily while guilt is slowly eating away at him.
