Christiane Chabi-Kao (born 30 June 1963) is a Beninese film director and screenwriter.
Biography
Chabi-Kao was born in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, in 1963.
She attended the
University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne
The University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (; URCA), also known simply as the University of Reims, is a public university based in Reims, France.
In addition to the main campus in Reims, the university has several campuses located throughout t ...
from 1984 to 1986. In 1990, Chabi-Kao returned to Africa. She came out with her first film, ''Les enfants esclaves'', in 2005, a documentary detailing modern slave children.
In 2007, she directed the film ''Les inseparables''. It tells the story of siblings Yawa and Abi, whom their father sells to a child trafficker, and the mother goes to the Police Children's Protection Unit to find out what happened. The film was co-produced by
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
and the Beninese National Radio and Television (ORTB), and came out as a series of four short films. Chabi-Kao wrote the film in part to raise awareness and end child trafficking. It received the African Numerique award at the Vues d'Afrique festival in Montreal in 2008, and also received the Human Rights prize at the 2009
Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
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 ...
.
After being informed of a ban on free open air screenings, Chabi-Kao organized a screening of the film for 300 Burkinabe students.
In 2009, she succeeded
Monique Mbeke Phoba as the director of the Lagunimages festival in
Cotonou
Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...
. As director, Chabi-Kao helps put on the film festival of the same name.
She worked for the festival for several years before becoming the director, and received a grant from
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
Academy to learn how to organize the festival.
Chabi-Kao wrote and directed the 14-part television series ''Les Chenapans'' in 2013. It depicts the lives and struggles of five Beninese teenagers, and it uses non-professional actors.
Filmography
*2005: ''Les enfants esclaves''
*2007: ''Les inseparables''
*2013: ''Les Chenapans''
*2014: ''Crocodile dans la Mangrove''
References
External links
Christiane Chabi-Kaoat the African Women in Cinema Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chabi-Kao, Christiane
1963 births
Living people
Beninese women writers
Beninese film directors
Mass media people from Marseille
Beninese women film directors