Henri-Joseph Koumba Bididi (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: هنري جوزيف كومبا بيديدي; born 15 July 1957), is a

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

ese director, screenwriter and producer. He has made several critically acclaimed films including the short ''Le Singe Fou'' (2008) and ''Le Collier du Makoko'' (2011).

Personal life

He was born on 15 July 1957 in

Omboué Omboué is a town located in Ogooué-Maritime province, Gabon. Geography It is the departmental capital of Etimboué Department. It is situated on the shores of the Fernan Vaz lagoon. It is 589 km away from the national capital, Librevi ...

. He graduated in film education from

École supérieure d'études cinématographiques Established in 1973, the École supérieure d'études cinématographiques (ESEC) (English: College of Cinematography) is a professional school in the fields of film and audiovisual techniques, and the use of multimedia applied to audiovisual wor ...

(E.S.E.C) in France.

Career

In 1983, Bididi worked as the in–charge of the casting for the film ''Équateur'' directed by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

. Then in 1986, he signed to the short film ''Le singe fou''. He was awarded the prize for criticism of Arab journalists at the

Carthage Film Festival The Carthage Film Festival (CFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Tunis and founded in 1966. It is also called by its abbreviation JCC, from its French name, , or by its Arabic title, (''Cinema Days of Carthage''). Initially bienn ...

and also the Great Short Film award at 10th

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) in 1987. From 1988 to 1991, Bididi was the director of the regional radio and television broadcasting unit of ' Haut-Ogoué'. From 1991 to 1994, Bididi was promoted to the new deputy director general of

Radio Télévision Gabonaise Radio Télévision Gabonaise (RTG) is the national broadcaster of the Central African state of Gabon. Radio Télévision Gabonaise is headquartered in Gabon's capital city, Libreville. It was established in 28 November 1959 with the start of Radi ...

(RTG). In 2000, he continued to work as a director for television and a producer for his maiden feature film, ''Les Couilles de l'éléphant''. The film was screened at 17th

Pan African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film festival and an ar ...

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 ...

, Burkina Faso. In 1994, Bididi directed two episodes of the TV series ''L’auberge du Salut''. From 2003 to 2008, he worked as Associate producer of television serial ''Affaires Voisins'' and then as the Executive producer and co-writer of the serial ''Les Annèes Écoles'' as well as directed 6 episodes. In 2011, he directed second feature film ''Le collier du Makoko''. He was the co-writer and executive producer of the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

TV series ''Claudia et dora''. In the same year, he directed the feature film ''Le collier du Makoko'', which is most expensive film in sub-Saharan Africa shot with a cost of 4 million euros. The film was prepared over 4 years, where the shooting took three months. The film received critical acclaim from several international film festivals and won the Special jury prize and male interpretation prize at the 2012 Khouribga festival in Morocco. It also won the Interpretation award at the 2012

Ecrans Noirs Festival Ecrans Noirs Festival is a film festival in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It has been characterized as "Central Africa's largest cinema event". The Ecrans Noirs Festival, run by an organization of the same name, was established in 1997 by the filmmaker Bass ...

in Cameroon as then Prize for best soundtrack and best poster at FESPACO 2013. In 2013, the film won Audience Award at the 2013 Masuku Film Festival in Gabon.

Filmography

References

External links

*
"Le collier du Makoko" un film de Henri Joseph KOUMBA BIDIDI (Gabon - Fiction)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koumba Bididi, Henri-Joseph Gabonese film directors Living people 1957 births Documentary film directors People from Ogooué-Maritime Province 21st-century Gabonese people