Mahama Johnson Traoré
Encyclopedia
Mahama Johnson Traoré was a Senegalese film director, writer, and co-founder of the Ouagadougou
-based Pan-African Cinema Festival (FESPACO).
. The son of a businessman, Traoré studied in Senegal, Mali and France to be an electrical engineer. In Paris he quit his studies to follow a passion for film. There he enrolled in the Conservatoire libre du cinéma français, an avant-garde school inspired by current German and Italian cinema and the theoretical approaches of the French ORTF
films with strong social messages from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. His best known films were "Diankha-bi" ("the Young Girl" in Wolof), 1968, which won the Grand Prize at the Dinard film Festival, and its sequel "Diègue-Bi" ("the Young Woman", 1970). Both had a strong feminist character which reappeared in his works, along with concerns for Pan-Africanism and struggle against unjust authority. All these were combined in another well known work, "Njangaan" (The Disciple, 1975), which follows a young boy, escaping an abusive father, who falls prey to an equally abusive religious teacher. Papers noted the coincidence that Traoré had died on 2010's International Women's Day
Traoré was working on an historical drama (Nder ou les flammes de l’honneur), co-written with Algerian producer Mariem Hamidat, at the time of his death. It is a story of the women of the town of Nder in the Senegalese Waalo Kingdom
who committed suicide rather than surrender to the Maure
invaders in 1820.
. From 1975 to 1983 he was secretary general of the Pan-African Federation of Film-makers (Fédération panafricaine des cinéastes FEPACI). From 1983 to 1985 he was Director of the Société nationale de production cinématographique du Sénégal (SNPC). In all these offices he played a prominent role in the relations between African states and filmmakers. One academic quotes him saying that there was not a single film made in Senegal during the 1970s that did not receive some form of state support from organs of government such as SNPC, the "Acualities Senegalaise", and the "Service du Cinema", which provided films for government ministries, often without ministerial control over subject or content. In a 1983 piece he called this relationship, common in Francophone West Africa at the time, "cultural bribery."
He was also founder, editor, and publisher from 2008 of the PanAfrican arts magazine, Cahiers d’Afrique. Active with FESPACO and film making up until his death, in 2009 he was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des arts, des lettres et de la communication by the government of Burkina Faso
. In July 2009, he served as a Jury Member at the Second Festival culturel panafricain d’Alger (PANAF).
, near Dakar
.
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic center of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 1,475,223 . The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais...
-based Pan-African Cinema Festival (FESPACO).
Biography
Traoré was born in 1942 at DakarDakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
. The son of a businessman, Traoré studied in Senegal, Mali and France to be an electrical engineer. In Paris he quit his studies to follow a passion for film. There he enrolled in the Conservatoire libre du cinéma français, an avant-garde school inspired by current German and Italian cinema and the theoretical approaches of the French ORTF
Films
Traoré became one of the premier filmmakers of the post-independence generation, associated with artists such as Sembene Ousmane. Traoré made a number of Wolof languageWolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
films with strong social messages from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. His best known films were "Diankha-bi" ("the Young Girl" in Wolof), 1968, which won the Grand Prize at the Dinard film Festival, and its sequel "Diègue-Bi" ("the Young Woman", 1970). Both had a strong feminist character which reappeared in his works, along with concerns for Pan-Africanism and struggle against unjust authority. All these were combined in another well known work, "Njangaan" (The Disciple, 1975), which follows a young boy, escaping an abusive father, who falls prey to an equally abusive religious teacher. Papers noted the coincidence that Traoré had died on 2010's International Women's Day
International Women's Day
International Women's Day , originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and...
Traoré was working on an historical drama (Nder ou les flammes de l’honneur), co-written with Algerian producer Mariem Hamidat, at the time of his death. It is a story of the women of the town of Nder in the Senegalese Waalo Kingdom
Waalo
The Kingdom of Waalo was a kingdom on the lower Senegal River in West Africa, in what are now Senegal and Mauritania. It included parts of the valley proper and areas north and south, extending to the Atlantic Ocean...
who committed suicide rather than surrender to the Maure
Maure
A Maure, since the 11th century, is the symbol of an African head. The term has Phoenician and Greek origins; see Moors.- U Moru :The main symbol in the coat of arms in Corsica is U Moru, Corsican for "The Moor", originally a female Moor blindfolded and wearing a necklace made of beads...
invaders in 1820.
Cultural activities
Traoré was one of the founders in 1969 of the prestigious Pan-African Cinema Festival FESPACO, and the Carthage Film FestivalCarthage Film Festival
The Carthage Film Festival is a biannual October film festival hosted by the government of Tunisia. It alternates with the Damascus International Film Festival....
. From 1975 to 1983 he was secretary general of the Pan-African Federation of Film-makers (Fédération panafricaine des cinéastes FEPACI). From 1983 to 1985 he was Director of the Société nationale de production cinématographique du Sénégal (SNPC). In all these offices he played a prominent role in the relations between African states and filmmakers. One academic quotes him saying that there was not a single film made in Senegal during the 1970s that did not receive some form of state support from organs of government such as SNPC, the "Acualities Senegalaise", and the "Service du Cinema", which provided films for government ministries, often without ministerial control over subject or content. In a 1983 piece he called this relationship, common in Francophone West Africa at the time, "cultural bribery."
He was also founder, editor, and publisher from 2008 of the PanAfrican arts magazine, Cahiers d’Afrique. Active with FESPACO and film making up until his death, in 2009 he was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des arts, des lettres et de la communication by the government of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
. In July 2009, he served as a Jury Member at the Second Festival culturel panafricain d’Alger (PANAF).
Death
He died on 8 March 2010 in Paris, after suffering a long term kidney illness, and was interred in the Muslim cemetery of the Grande Mosque of Mermoz in YoffYoff
Yoff is a town part of the city of Dakar. It lies north of downtown Dakar and immediately north of Dakar Airport . The town is built along the broad beach at Yoff Bay...
, near Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
.
Filmography
- 1969 : Diankha-bi (The young girl)
- 1969 : L’Enfer des innocents
- 1970 " Diègue-Bi (The young woman)
- 1971 : L’Étudiant africain face aux mutations
- 1971 : L’Exode rural
- 1972 : Lambaye
- 1972 : Reou-taax (the Town)
- 1974 : Garga M’Bossé (the Cactus)
- 1975 : Njangaan (the Desciple)
- 1980 : Sarax si (the Alms)
- 1982 : La médecine traditionnelle