Mini biography

Idrissa Ouedraogo _{(January 21, 1954 - February 18, 2018)}

Idrissa Ouedraogo was born on January 21, 1954 in Banfora, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso].

Idrissa Ouédraogo was a Burkinabé filmmaker. His work often explored the conflict between rural and city life and tradition and modernity in his native Burkina Faso and elsewhere in Africa.

He is best known for his feature film Tilaï, which won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival and Samba Traoré (1993), which was nominated for the Silver Bear award at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Idrissa Ouédraogo was born in Banfora, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), in 1954. He grew up in the town of Ouahigouya in the northern region of his homeland, and in 1976 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree. To ensure a better life his farmer parents sent him to Ouagadougou for further education, where he attended the African Institute for Cinema Studies (Institut Africain d’Etudes Cinématographiques) completing his studies in 1981 with a masters. After studying in Kyiv in the USSR he moved to Paris, where he graduated from the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in 1985 with a DEA from the Sorbonne.

“My being black does not necessarily mean that I have read neither Kant nor Molière…”


Ouédraogo's first feature, Yam Daabo ("The Choice"; 1986) was well received, and focuses on a rural family's decision to remain reliant on aid or to move location and become self-sufficient.

His first film to receive greater distribution was Yaaba ("Grandmother"), which won awards at festivals, including the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes, and was shown around the world, popular because of its beauty and simplicity. Despite its popularity, critics felt the Yaaba lacked the critical insight into the serious issues that affected village life.

His next film Tilaï ("A Question of Honour") won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. Centered around a moment of change in the Mòoré culture, where the lives of the children of a family are torn apart by the unwavering adherence to tradition in a rapidly transforming modern world.

The success of both Yam Daabo and Tilaï placed pressure on Ouédraogo to produce another international success, and his next film Karim and Sala was rushed to be shown at the 12th Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) and was not well received and suffered from poor distribution. Samba Traoré (1993), returns to the themes of rural versus city life, tradition against change and was well received, being nominated for the Silver Bear at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Ouédraogo followed Samba Traoré with The Heart's Cry (Le Cri du cœur; 1994), Kini and Adams (1997), Anger of the Gods (La Colère des dieux; 2003) and Kato Kato (2006).

Ouédraogo's output has been criticised as being too focused on appealing to audiences in Africa and the West. Françoise Pfaff names Ouédraogo, amongst a group of African directors, as a storyteller who has a predilection for filming shots of atypical African rural scenes, such as "monotonous images of women pounding millet or corn". Pfaff's view is that Ouédraogo's work is too focused on non-African audiences and alienates African viewers. In defence, Sharon A. Russell argues that Ouédraogo must always consider the needs of a director who wishes to keep filming in Africa, and that funding for the next film is a priority and that he is a talented person making films under difficult circumstances.

He died on February 18, 2018 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.


Filmography

1987     Yam Daabo (The Choice)
1989     Yaaba (Grandmother)
1990     Tilaï (The Law)
1991     Karim and Sala
1993     Samba Traoré
1994     Le cri du cœur (The Heart's Cry)
1995     Lumière and company | Lumière et compagnie (1995, Doc.)
1997     Kini and Adams
2003     La colère des dieux (Anger of the Gods)
2006     Kato Kato

Director - Selected filmography

1. Lumière and Company | Lumière et compagnie (1995, Doc.)
   
2. Samba Traoré (1993)
   
3. Tilaï | The Law (1990)