The Trailblazer of African Cinema won the Ju-Chair Award for his film “Yeelen” at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.
Mali’s highly acclaimed director Somame Sisse, considered one of the pillars of African films, passed away at the age of 84.
His daughter announced that Cisse had passed away on Wednesday, leaving a pioneering legacy on the half-century silver screen, marked by African storytelling, deep humanism and commitment to political engagement.
“My dad passed away today in Bamako. We are all shocked. He dedicated his life to his country, to the cinemas and to the arts,” said Mariam Sisse.
Cisse won the Ju-Chair Award for “Yeelen” (“Brightness”) at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.
In 2023, Cannes once again honored him with Kalos d’Or, an award given to a director who “marked the history of cinema with boldness, strict standards and incompatibility in staging.”
The award was stolen from his home in 2024 before being discovered again.
Remember Souleymane Cissé (1940-2025). Yeelen won the Great Jue Prize at Cannes in 1987 and became the first African film to be awarded at a festival, and is one of the greats of cinemas known for shaking African films onto the world stages. . pic.twitter.com/jypzt0vdn3
– Lincoln Center (@filmlinc) movie February 19, 2025
In a message on Facebook, Marian Boubakar Sidibe said that the Sahel film industry is “losing,” and Culture Minister Mamoo Duffe lamented the “loss of this African film monument.” I did.
The film, a nonprofit at Lincoln Center, praised Cisse as “one of Cinema’s Greats,” citing his work, Elen, to “attack African films on the world stage.”
“If God does that”
Cisse is one of the only two filmmakers to win the Grand Prize twice at Burkina Faso’s Panafrican Film and Television Festival (Fespaco), and is Africa’s largest and most famous.
He is scheduled to fly to Ouagadougou at Burkina Faso Capital on Thursday, and has been leading the 29th edition of the festival’s feature judges from February 22nd.
Souleymane Cissé (April 21, 1940 to February 19, 2025). At age 84, as one of the last living pioneers of African cinema, his presence was a valuable connection to the cultural history of the continent.
To truly respect Cissé’s legacy is to understand his work body as…pic.twitter.com/4xxyuqatma
– Akoroko – African cinemas! (@akorokoafrica) February 19, 2025
In a 2023 Cannes interview with AFP News Agency, he criticized “censorship” and “light empty,” saying it prevented African films from being distributed worldwide.
Even on the day of his death, he declared Mali’s military leaders the 2025 culture, 2025, but urged the country to help the industry catch up with its continental rivals.
“Building a cinema isn’t enough. The film needs to be visible too. I hope the authorities can help build the cinema,” he told a press conference Wednesday morning. “This is the appeal I will make to them before my death if God will.”
