Gaston Kaboré (born 1951) is a
Burkinabé film director and an important figure in Burkina Faso's film industry.
He has won awards for his films ''
Wend Kuuni
''Wend Kuuni'' (also known as ''God's Gift'') is a 1982 Burkina Faso, Burkinabé drama film directed by Gaston Kaboré. It was followed with the sequel ''Buud Yam'' (1997).
Plot
A village leader tells a crying mother to give up hope that her husba ...
'' and ''
Buud Yam
''Buud Yam'' is a 1997 Burkina Faso, Burkinabé historical film, historical drama film written and directed by Gaston Kaboré. It is the sequel to the film ''Wend Kuuni''. As of 2001, it was the most popular African film ever in Burkina Faso.
The ...
''.
Biography
Kaboré was born in 1951 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 (re ...
in
Upper Volta.
He studied history 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, ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, receiving his
license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
and
Maîtrise (Master's) degrees.
While researching the history of racial prejudice against Africa by its colonisers for his Maîtrise, Kaboré was drawn to contemporary
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
s which, he felt, continued to propagate such stereotypes.
To better understand the "language of cinema", he decided to go to
ESEC film school. Originally intending to use film as a medium for disseminating historical knowledge, he gradually grew passionate about film for its own sake. He received his degree in Film Production in 1976.
He returned to his native country to be director of the Centre National du Cinéma. His film ''Wend Kuuni'' was only the second feature film produced in Burkina Faso.
His work for the screen, focusing on his country's rural heritage, has received numerous international awards, including a French
César award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* C ...
.
In 1997 he won the first prize at the 15th
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) with the film ''
Buud Yam
''Buud Yam'' is a 1997 Burkina Faso, Burkinabé historical film, historical drama film written and directed by Gaston Kaboré. It is the sequel to the film ''Wend Kuuni''. As of 2001, it was the most popular African film ever in Burkina Faso.
The ...
''.
From 1985 to 1997 he was the Secretary-General of the
Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI).
[
] Since 2005 he has had a training school, Imagine, in
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 n ...
that trains professionals in the television and cinema industries.
Filmography
*''
Wend Kuuni
''Wend Kuuni'' (also known as ''God's Gift'') is a 1982 Burkina Faso, Burkinabé drama film directed by Gaston Kaboré. It was followed with the sequel ''Buud Yam'' (1997).
Plot
A village leader tells a crying mother to give up hope that her husba ...
'' (1983)
*''
Zan Boko'' (1988)
*''
Rabi Rabi may refer to:
Places
* Rábí, a castle in the Czech Republic
* Rabí, a village in the Czech Republic
* Räbi, a village in Estonia
* Rabi, Panchthar, a village development committee in Nepal
* Rabi Island, a volcanic island in northern F ...
'' (1992)
*''
Lumière and Company
''Lumière and Company'' (original title: ) is a 1995 anthology film made in collaboration between forty-one international film directors. The project consists of short films made by each of the filmmakers using the original camera invented by the ...
'' (1995)
*''
Buud Yam
''Buud Yam'' is a 1997 Burkina Faso, Burkinabé historical film, historical drama film written and directed by Gaston Kaboré. It is the sequel to the film ''Wend Kuuni''. As of 2001, it was the most popular African film ever in Burkina Faso.
The ...
'' (1997)
Notes
Further reading
Books
*
Ukadike, Nwachukwu Frank (2002)
Gaston Kaboré ''Questioning African Cinema: Conversations with Filmmakers''. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 109–120. .
External links
*
1951 births
Burkinabé film directors
Burkinabé screenwriters
Burkinabé film producers
Living people
People from Bobo-Dioulasso
21st-century Burkinabé people
{{Africa-film-director-stub