Director
Mali
Cheick Oumar Sissoko was born in 1945 in San, Mali. He attended high school in Mali then finished his high studies in France, where he attended the National School of Cinematography Louis Lumière in Paris, obtained a degree in history and cinema from the School of Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris and a Master of Advanced Studies in African history and Sociology. Back to Mali, Sissoko specialized in filmmaking with his work as director of the National Center for Film Production (CNPC) from 1991 to 1997 until he created Kora Films, a private production and distribution film company. His filmography includes more than 25 short and long fiction and documentary films. In his efforts and contribution to the consciousness of African people on their rights and duties, Sissoko believed in his mission to bring to the screen aspects of life, love, suffering, fighting and ideas that some tried to eliminate from contemporary cinema. He also runs a network of nine FM stations involved in the same mission as the films he realizes. Among his renowned films, Guimba (The Tyrant), which won special jury prizes at the International Film Festival of Locarno, and l'Etalon de Yennenga at FESPACO and La Genèse which won Sissoko another Etalon de Yennenga at FESPACO. In 2000, he directed Battu which won him the RFI Prize for Cinema at FESPACO in 2001. Sissoki is a filmmaker and a politician as he was Minister of Culture and Minister of Education in Mali.
