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Dani Kouyaté (born June 4, 1961)
is a film director and
griot
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
from
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, which the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".
Biography
Kouyaté was born in 1961 in
Bobo-Dioulasso
Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula".
The local Bobo-speaking population (r ...
. He is the son of one of the first Burkinabé actors,
Sotigui Kouyaté
Sotigui Kouyaté (19 July 1936 – 17 April 2010) was one of the first Malian, Burkinabé actors. He was the father of film director Dani Kouyaté, of the storyteller Hassane Kassi Kouyaté and of the actor Mabô Kouyaté
and was a member of th ...
,
and is a member of the
Mandeng ethnic group.
have served as
griots
A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
The griot is a repos ...
for the
Keita dynasty since the 13th century.
The Kouyatés guard customs, and their knowledge is authoritative amongst Mandengs.
Keitas have to provide amenities to Kouyatés, who in turn should not hesitate to ask for Keita help.
The word Kouyaté translates as "there is a secret between you and me".
The junior Kouyaté trained at the
Institute Africain d'Education Cinématographique in Burkina Faso's capital of
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 ...
before travelling to France for five years of study at the
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
where he obtained a Master's degree in Cultural and Social Marketing.
He also received a degree from the
International School of Anthropology in Paris, and an advanced degree in Cinema from the
Université de Vincennes à Saint-Denis.
From 1990 to 1996 Kouyaté toured the United States and Europe as part of "La Voix du Griot" ("Voice of the Griot"), a storytelling theater show founded by his father.
He began his film career in 1989 with the short film ''
Bilakoro'', which was co-directed with Issa Traoré de Brahima.
In 1992 he was co-founder of the film production company
Sahelis Productions with
Sékou Traoré
Sékou Traoré is a filmmaker from Burkina Faso. He and his friends Dani Kouyaté and Issa Traoré de Brahima established the production company Sahelis Productions
Sahelis Productions is a film and television video production and post-producti ...
and
Issa Traoré de Brahima.
He directed a number of other short films before the release of his first full-length feature, ''
Keïta! l'Héritage du griot
(English title: ''Keita! Voice of the Griot'') is a 1995 Burkinabé film directed by Dani Kouyaté and starring Sotigui Kouyaté. It is an adaptation of the first third of the 13th-century ''Epic of Sundiata'', interspersed with scenes of a gr ...
''
in 1995.
Sundjata Keita
Sundiata Keita (Mandinka, Malinke: ; 1217 – c. 1255) (also known as Manding Diara, Lion of Mali, Sogolon Djata, son of Sogolon, Nare Maghan and Sogo Sogo Simbon Salaba) was a prince and founder of the Mali Empire. He is also the great-uncle ...
's 13th century epic, ''
Sundjata'', was Kouyaté's inspiration for the film,
which depicts a middle-class family in Ouagadougou.
He shot it in Ouagadougou,
Sindou, and
Ouahabou.
His father played the central role of Djeliba Kouyaté, who was imagined as an old dying man by Dani Kouyaté, though was portrayed as more forceful than that.
''Keïta!'' received the Best First Film Prize from the
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 ...
(Fespaco) and was awarded the Junior Prize at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.
In a 1995 interview, he reflected on the experience and commenting on traditional society, saying:
In 1999 he created several episodes of the Burkinabé television series ''À nous la vie'' (roughly "Let's grab life").
The second feature film Kouyaté directed was ''
Sia, le rêve du python'', released in 2001.
It "operates simultaneously on three levels: as a visually compelling, exciting story set in a mythical past; as a political allegory, in which the events of the past are a continual commentary on Africa today; and as a rumination on the power and value of myth and legend."
His father played the complex General Watigué, and the junior Kouyaté performed as a musician, strumming his guitar and playing several percussion instruments.
He also directed the award winning film ''
Ouaga-Saga'' (2004), which premiered at Fespaco in 2005.
It tells the story of 11 Burkinabés struggling to overcome poverty to realise their dreams.
Kouyaté had five weeks to film this, though it took longer to complete.
Filmography
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kouyate, Dani
1961 births
Living people
Burkinabé film directors
People from Bobo-Dioulasso
21st-century Burkinabé people