Aïcha Thiam (born 27 October 1979) is a Belgian-Senegalese film director.

Biography

Thiam was born in 1979 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, the daughter of a Senegalese father and Malian mother. She lived in Antwerp for her first three years before moving to Senegal. Her mother's stories of Antwerp inspired Thiam to return to the city. She grew up between Belgium, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal and Mali. Thiam earned her baccalaureate in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

and enrolled at the Faculty of Legal Sciences at the

Cheikh Anta Diop University Cheikh Anta Diop University (), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop and has an enrollment of over 60, ...

in Dakar. She ended her legal studies to study audiovisual professions at the Media Center of Dakar. In 2003, Thiam directed her first short film, ''Fisabillahi''. The film tackled the subject of begging by

talibe A talibé (also spelled ''talibe'', plural ''talibés''; , 'student'; pl. ) is a boy, usually from Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Mali or Mauritania, who studies the Quran at a daara (West African equivalent of madrasa). This ...

children in Dakar and won several awards, including Best Video Prize at the Montreal Francophone Video Festival. She continued her training on the film sets of the filmmaker Moussa Séne Absa. Thiam served as an assistant to Johnson Traoré on several documentary films and participated in the documentary screenwriting workshops of the

Africadoc Africadoc is a network of documentary filmmakers and associations in Africa organized by Ardèche Images and since 2012 by Docmonde. It includes associations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal ...

association. Since 2004, she has worked as a director at Senegalese National Television (RTS1) as well as freelancing on documentary and fiction film projects. In 2006 she began her studies at

Senghor University The French-speaking International University for African Development or Senghor University (in French: ''Université Senghor d'Alexandrie'') is a private university in Alexandria, established by decree of the President of the Egypt, Arab Republic ...

in audiovisual production management. During her time at the university, Thiam directed several short documentaries and institutional films. She directed ''Le Cri de la Mer'' in 2008. It focused on immigrant Yaye Bayam Diouf, and the loss of her son is central to the narrative. The film was produced as part of the Femmes Battantes series, and received funding from Senegal and Belgium. In 2011, she earned her master's degree in creative documentary direction at

Grenoble Alpes University The (, ''Grenoble Alps University'', abbr. UGA) is a ''grand établissement'' in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 researchers. Established as the Univer ...

. The same year, Thiam directed ''Le Jeu du coq et de la camera'', which questions the relationship between the filmmaker and the film subject. In 2014, Thiam directed ''Camarade Etudiant'' on the topic of higher education in Senegal. She directed her first feature film, ''La Rue des Sœurs Noires'', in 2014. Coproduced by Survivance and DS Productions, it examines the history of the diamond trade in Antwerp as well as African migration. In 2019, Thiam became a member of the official jury of the sixth Documentary Film Festival of

Saint-Louis, Senegal Saint-Louis () or Saint Louis (), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-L ...

. She lives and works in Dakar.

Filmography

* 2003 : ''Fisabillahi'' (short film) * 2005 : ''Gabil le pagne magique'' (short film) * 2006 : ''Yakaar'' (short film) * 2006 : ''Juste un bout de papier'' (short film) * 2006 : ''Papa'' (short film) * 2008 : ''Le Cri de la Mer'' (short film) * 2011 : ''Le Jeu du coq et de la camera'' (short film) * 2012 : ''Fatou Fatou Mécaniciennes'' * 2014 : ''Camarade Etudiant'' (short film) * 2014 : ''La Rue des Sœurs Noires''

References

External links

SPLA bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thiam, Aicha 1979 births Living people Senegalese women film directors Senegalese film directors Mass media people from Antwerp Cheikh Anta Diop University alumni Grenoble Alpes University alumni