Moustapha Alassane
Moustapha Alassane | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 |
| Died | 17 March 2015 (aged 72–73) |
| Occupation | Film director |
Moustapha Alassane (1942–17 March 2015) was a Nigerien filmmaker who is often hailed as the "father' of African film animation.[1]
Biography
Born in 1942 in N’Dougou (Niger), Moustapha Alassane graduated in mechanics. However, in the Rouch Istitute for Research and Human Sciences in Niamey he learned the cinematographic technique and thereafter became one of its main proponents. Jean Rouch provided for Alassane's education and accommodation in Canada, where he met the famous Norman McLaren, who taught him about animation.[2]
He was the creator of the first animated films of the sub-Saharan Africa, also directing documentaries and fiction films.[3] He was Head of Cinema Department at the Niamey University for 15 years.
Moustapha Alassane directed, in 1962, two shorts inspired in traditional tales: Aoure and La Bague du roi Koda. Representing African culture (e.g. in Deela ou el Barka le conteur, 1969, and Abimbola ou Shaki, 1973), Alassane also employed moral satire (F.V.V.A., femme, villa, voiture, argent, 1972), denouncing the thirst for power for “new wealth” in Africa. Social criticism and black humour are in almost all of his films. Le Retour d'un aventurier (1966) is considered the first African western.[4] The debut of actor Zalika Souley, who plays the only woman amidst a band of Nigerien cowboys, also makes the film notable. The film won an award at the World Festival of Black Arts in Dakar in 1966.[5]
The frog was Alassane's favourite animal and protagonist of most of his animated films, because Alassane believed it is funnier to animate frogs rather than humans. To work, Alassane used several materials, such as wood, metal or wire, glue, fabric or sponge. His workshop was based in Tahoua.
Numerous retrospectives of Alassane's career have been made in several international film festivals, including the MoMA in 2017.[6] Samba le Grand was restored in 2K in 2019 by NYU Tisch, in association with Villa Albertine – French Embassy in the United States and the Cinémathèque Afrique of the Institut Français.[7]
Moustapha Alassane was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.[8]
Filmography
As director
- 1962: La Bague du roi Koda
- 1962: Aoure
- 1962: La Pileuse de Mil
- 1962: Le piroguier
- 1964: L’arachide de Santchira
- 1965: La mort de Ghandji
- 1966: Le Retour d'un aventurier
- 1966: Bon Voyage Sim
- 1967: Malbaza
- 1969: Les contre Bandiers
- 1969: Deela ou el Barka le Conteur
- 1971: Jamyya
- 1972: Women Cars Villas Money a.k.a. F.V.V.A.: Femme, Voiture, Villa, Argent
- 1973: Abimbola ou Shaki
- 1973: Siberi
- 1974: Soubane
- 1974: Toula ou Le génie des eaux
- 1975: Zaboa
- 1977: Samba le Grand
- 1982: Agwane mon Village
- 1982: Kankamba ou le semeur de discorde
- 1982: Gourimou
- 2000: Soolo
- 2000: Adieu Sim
- 2001: Les magiciens de l'Ader
- 2001: Agaïssa
- 2001: Kokoa
- 2003: Tagimba
As actor
- 1971: Petit à petit (Moustaphe)
- 1976: L'Étoile noire
As writer
Films about Moustapha Alassane
- Animation et creation: Univers du cinema de Moustapha Alassane (2002), documentary directed by Debra S. Boyd
- Moustapha Alassane, cinéaste du possible (2009), documentary directed by Silvia Bazzoli and Christian Lelong.[9]
References
- ^ Clap Noir. "Mort de Moustapha Alassane". clapnoir.org. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
- ^ Callus, Paula (2010). "Animation as socio-political commentary: an analysis of the animated films of Congolese director Jean Michel Kibushi". Journal of African Media Studies. 2 (1): 55–71. doi:10.1386/jams.2.1.55/1.
- ^ Garin-Davet, Amélie (2022-04-18). "Moustapha Alassane, a Retrospective of an Adventurer". African Studies Review. 65 (2): 531–534. doi:10.1017/asr.2022.28. ISSN 0002-0206.
- ^ Sawadogo, Boukary (2019). West African Screen Media: Comedy, TV Series, and Transnationalization. Michigan State University Press. ISBN 978-1-61186-311-6.
- ^ Barlet, Olivier (2009-10-06). "Mustapha Alassane, cinéaste du possible". Africultures (in French). Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ "The Animations and Improvisations of a Trailblazing Nigerien Filmmaker". Hyperallergic. 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ Garin-Davet, Amélie (June 2022). "Moustapha Alassane, a Retrospective of an Adventurer". African Studies Review. 65 (2): 531–534. doi:10.1017/asr.2022.28. ISSN 0002-0206.
- ^ Parks, Corrie Francis (2015-04-03). "In Memoriam: Moustapha Alassane (1942-2015)". ASIFA. Retrieved 2026-03-07.
- ^ de Bussy, Arthur (28 December 2010). "" Moustapha Alassane, Cinéaste du Possible " de Maria Silvia Bazzoli et Christian Lelong (2009)". ART ET «POÏÈSIS» (in French). Retrieved 12 March 2012.
External links
- Moustapha Alassane at IMDb
- Moustapha Alassane in ClapNoir (French)
- Moustapha Alassane in Africultures (French)
- Moustapha Alassane in African Success
- Moustapha Alassane in a "La Gazette" article (French)
- Le Retour D'Un Aventurier and Moustapha Alassane in the 5th "Festival des Cinémas Africains" (French)