Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé, a pioneer of African cinema, dies at age 84

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé, a pioneer of African cinema with a career spanning 50 years, has died at age 84, Malian television announced Wednesday.

The cause of Cissé's death was not announced. The Malian government said Cissé “had just held a press conference to present two trophies as a prelude to the 29th edition of Fespaco, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), which will open this next weekend in the capital of Burkina Faso."

Cissé was the first Black African filmmaker to win a feature film prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France. He won the jury prize in 1987 for “Yeelen,” or “The Light,” and in 2023, he won the Carrosse d’or for “Finye,” or “The Wind.”

Cissé also twice won the Étalon d’or de Yennenga, the Grand Prize of the Ouagadougou Pan-African Film and Television Festival.

Born in Bamako, Mali, Cissé studied in Mali, Senegal and Moscow. He was President of the Union of Creators and Entrepreneurs of Cinema and Audiovisuals of West Africa.

Tributes poured in for Cisse, whose trailblazing work on the silver screen across more than half a century was marked by a commitment to African storytelling, deep humanism and political engagement.

“Papa died today in Bamako. We are all in shock. He dedicated all his life to his country, to cinema and to art,” Mariam Cisse said.