Adama Drabo (1948 - July 15, 2009) was a

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and playwright.

Biography

Drabo was in the Malian capital of

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

, Mali, where he showed an interest in film since his childhood. For ten years, he was a schoolteacher in a Malian village, and in his spare time he painted and wrote plays. His career in film began as a hobby. In 1979, he joined the Centre national de production cinématographique (CNPC). There, he worked with

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Cheick Oumar Sissoko Cheick Oumar Sissoko (born 1945 in San, Mali) is a Malian film director and politician. Biography As a student in Paris, Cheick Oumar Sissoko obtained a DEA in African History and Sociology and a diploma in History and Cinema from the Ecole ...

as an assistant director on the 1986 film ''Nyamanton'' and the 1989 film ''

Finzan ''Finzan'' / ''A Dance for Heroes'' is a 1989 Malian film, the second feature film directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko Cheick Oumar Sissoko (born 1945 in San, Mali) is a Malian film director and politician. Biography As a student in Paris, Che ...

''. In 1988, he produced a short film, ''Nieba, la journée d'une paysanne''. In 1991, he produced his first full-length film, '' Ta Dona'' (Au feu!), which was nominated for the Gold Lion prize at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

, and featured at

FESPACO The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It ...

. It was also screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. In 1997, he produced ''Taafé Fanga'', which tells the story of a

Dogon Dogon may refer to: *Dogon people, an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa *Dogon languages, a small, close-knit language family spoken by the Dogon people of Mali *'' Dogon A.D.'', an album by saxophonist Juliu ...

woman who finds a magical mask and uses its powers to reverse

gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

s in her village. This film was featured in film festivals worldwide, including at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Namur, and

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's ...

. He died in Algeria from cardiac arrest during the "Festival culturel panafricain d’Alger".

Filmography

* ''Nieba, la journée d'une paysanne'' (Nieba, the Day of a Peasant Woman) (1988) * '' Ta Dona (Au feu!)'' (1991) * ''Taafé Fanga'' (1997) (The Power of the Skirt) *''Kokadjè : laver proprement'' (2003) * ''Faantan Fanga'' (2009) (The Power of the Poor) (mostly written wrongly as "Fantan fanga", which would mean "The Power of the Orphan" in Bambara)

Bibliography

Adama Drabo has written many

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, including: * ''Massa'', 1972 * ''Le Trésor de l'Askia'' (The Treasure of Askia), 1977 * ''L'Eau de Dieu tombera'' (The Water of God will fall), 1982 * ''Pouvoir de Pagne'' (Skirt Power), 1983

References

External links

* 1948 births 2009 deaths People from Bamako Malian film directors Malian dramatists and playwrights Malian male writers Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers 21st-century Malian people {{Africa-film-director-stub