Fatoumata Coulibaly is a Malian film actress, director, journalist, and women's rights activist, particularly against female genital mutilation (FGM).

Early life

Coulibaly comes from a family of musicians, and her grandmother Bazéko Traoré was a singer and musician from the

Sikasso Sikasso ( Bambara: ߛߌߞߊߛߏ tr. Sikaso) is a city in the south of Mali and the capital of the Sikasso Cercle and the Sikasso Region. It is Mali's second largest city with 225,753 residents in the 2009 census. History Sikasso was founded ...

region, where Coulibaly comes from.

Career

Coulibaly first worked as a radio journalist and announcer in Mali, before she had an idea for a play, and went to see the director Ousmane Sow, who suggested that she try writing it as a film script, as did

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 ...

. Coulibaly first attracted international attention with her role in the 1997 film '' N'Golo dit Papa''. Coulibaly played the lead role in the 2004 film ''

Moolaadé ''Moolaadé'' ("magical protection") is a 2004 film by the Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène. It addresses the subject of female genital mutilation, a common practice in a number of African countries, from Egypt to Nigeria. The film ...

'' from the

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

ese writer and director

Ousmane Sembène Ousmane Sembène (; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), often credited in the French style as Sembène Ousmane in articles and reference works, was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The ''Los Angeles Times'' consider ...

. Coulibaly starred as Collé Gallo Ardo Sy, her husband's second of three wives, in a village in

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 ...

, who uses moolaadé ("magical protection") to try to protect girls from female genital mutilation (FGM). Coulibaly herself has been a victim of female genital mutilation. The critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars (out of four), writing "for me the best film at Cannes 2004, a story vibrating with urgency and life. It makes a powerful statement and at the same time contains humor, charm and astonishing visual beauty". Coulibaly won the Best Actress award for her role as Collé, at the

Cinemanila International Film Festival The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Southea ...

in 2005. This film had an important role in raising wider awareness of FGM, and Coulibaly has continued to campaign on this issue since then. Her campaign against FGM has been documented in the film ''Africa on the Move: The Power of Song'' (2010). Coulibaly has appeared in numerous films, television series and plays. As of 2016, Coulibaly works for the Office de radiodiffusion télévision du Mali (Office of Broadcasting Television of Mali) (ORTM).

Filmography

* '' Guimba the Tyrant'' (1995) * '' N'Golo dit Papa'' (1997) * '' Aphrodite, the Garden of the Perfumes'' (1998) * ''

'' (2004), actress * ''Africa on the Move: The Power of the Song'' (2010) * '' Tourbillon à Bamako'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulibaly, Fatoumata Living people Malian women Malian women's rights activists Malian journalists Malian feminists 20th-century Malian actresses 21st-century Malian actresses Malian film actresses Malian activists Year of birth missing (living people) Violence against women in Mali