Maïmouna Hélène Diarra, also Helena Diarra (1955 – June 10, 2021) was a Malian

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

known for playing the roles of older women from her young age. She is the CEO of the International Fund for the Development of Active Retirement. She is the Vice President of the Professional Association of Decentralized Financial Systems of Côte d'Ivoire.

Early life and education

Diarra was born in 1955 in Segou,

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

but was orphaned at an early age and raised by her uncles and grandmother. In 1975, she was admitted into the National Pedagogical Institute for a Diploma of Fundamental Studies in the teaching profession. Between 1975 and 1977 she played for the Bamako Reds women's basketball team. In 1981, she obtained a diploma in theatre arts at the National Arts Institute.

Career

In 2000, she was featured as "Aminate" in

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, Ge ...

's drama film, ''

Code Unknown ''Code Unknown'' () is a 2000 film directed by Michael Haneke. Most of the story occurs in Paris, France, where the fates of several characters intersect and connect. ''Code Unknown'' is composed of unedited long takes filmed in real time, cut on ...

''. Other cast include:

Aïssa Maïga Aïssa Maïga (born 5 May 1975) is a Senegal-born French actress, director, writer, producer, and activist. Maïga has worked with major auteurs like Michael Haneke, Abderrahmane Sissako and Michel Gondry, and recently starred in Chiwetel Ejio ...

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than 60 films, particularly in French and English, and has been the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Juliette Binoche, numerous accolades, ...

Thierry Neuvic Thierry Neuvic (born 3 August 1970) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1996. He starred in the film '' Code Unknown'', which was selected in the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Personal life He was t ...

Josef Bierbichler Josef "Sepp" Bierbichler (born 26 April 1948) is a German actor. Filmography * 1976: '' Heart of Glass'' – director: Werner Herzog * 1976: ''Die Atlantikschwimmer'' * 1977: '' Bierkampf'' – director: Herbert Achternbusch * 1977: ''Servus ...

and others. In 2004, she was featured in

Ousmane Sembène Ousmane Sembène (; 1 January 1923 or 8 January 1923 – 9 June 2007), was a Senegalese film director, producer and writer. The ''Los Angeles Times'' considered him one of the greatest authors of Africa and he has often been called the "father o ...

Bambara language Bambara, also known as Bamana (N'Ko script: ) or Bamanankan (N'Ko script: ; Arabic script: ), is a lingua franca and national language of Mali spoken by perhaps 14 million people, natively by 4.2 million Bambara people and about 10 million ...

film, Moolaadé, playing the role of "Hadjatou". Other cast include: Fatoumata Coulibaly and Salimata Traoré. The film was presented at the 2007

Ebertfest Ebertfest is an annual film festival held every April in Champaign, Illinois, United States, organized by the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Roger Ebert, the TV and ''Chicago Sun-Times'' film critic, was a native of the adjoi ...

. It was nominated for a "Best Film" award at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

. In 2006, she was starred in

Abderrahmane Sissako Abderrahmane Sissako (; born 13 October 1961) is a Mauritanian-born Malian film director and producer. His film '' Waiting for Happiness'' (''Heremakono'') was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival official selection under Un Certain Regard, ...

's drama film, ''

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

'', in which she played the role of "Saramba". Other cast featured include:

and Tiécoura Traoré.

Filmography

References

External links

Hélène Diarra
on

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Maimouna Hélène Diarra
on Premiere {{DEFAULTSORT:Diarra, Helene Living people Malian actresses 1955 births People from Ségou 21st-century Malian people