Kadiatou Konaté is a

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 ...

an film director and screenwriter. Her most notable work is ''L'Enfant terrible'', an animated short based on African myths. She has also produced several documentaries, often focusing on the issues of women and children in Mali.

Personal history

Konaté was born in

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 ...

, Mali. Her family, the Konates, were royalty that had once belonged to the

Gbara The Gbara (; now spelled and pronounced as ''Bara'' or ''Gara'' in those Manding languages lacking ) or Great Assembly was the deliberative body of the Mali Empire, which ruled much of West Africa during the Middle Ages. It was first formed ...

of Old Mali. She was educated at

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, ...

Film career

After leaving university, Konaté worked as a member of the crew on Souleymane Cissé's 1985 classic film '' Yeelen''. In 1989 she wrote the screenplay for the short animated film ''La Geste de Ségou'', directed by fellow Malian Mambaye Coulibaly. Her first credited solo work is listed as the documentary ''Des Yeux Pour Pleurer'' (Crying Eyes), shot on video in 1992. Konaté followed this with a second documentary, also shot on video, ''Circulation Routiere'' (''Traffic''), co-directed with Kabide Djedje. In 1993 she produced three short films, the most notable of which was ''L'Enfant terrible'' (''The Terrible Child''), co-produced with the Belgian workshop Graphoui. ''L'Enfant terrible'', which is based upon a Central African myth, is, like ''La Geste de Ségou'', an animated story that used puppets. It follows a benevolent spirit, a child which is born with teeth and the ability to talk and walk, who finds its older brother and begins an unusual journey. It remains her most highly acclaimed work. Konaté followed her short films by returning to documentaries, releasing ''Femmes et Développement'' in 1995. ''Femmes et Développement'' makes comparison between women in Mali from different socioeconomic groups. The film looks at what has been accomplished by women in her country and what still needs to be accomplished. In 1998 she directed ''Un mineur en milieu carcéral'', a short documentary which explored the plight of children who have been incarcerated, often for minor offenses. Her 2008 documentary ''Daman Da'' (''Yellow Mirage''), follows the day-to-day lives of gold miners in Mali. She was drawn to the topic after watching a local news report on the subject. The film showed the difficulties faced by the miners, working in crude conditions, but also the honesty and work ethic they displayed.

Filmography

Writer

* ''La Geste de Ségou'' (1989)

Director

* ''Des Yeux Pour Pleurer'' (1992) - Documentary * ''Circulation Routiere'' (1993) - Documentary * ''L'Enfant terrible'' (1993) * ''L'enfant et l'hygiène corporelle'' (1993) * ''L'enfant et la circulation routière'' (1993) * ''Femmes et Développement'' (1995) * ''Un mineur en milieu carcéral'' (1998) * ''Petit à petit'' (2001) * ''Daman da'' (2008)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Konaté, Kadiatou Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Malian film directors Malian women film directors People from Bamako Women screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Malian people