ABSTRACT
At the Cannes International Film Festival 2005, Pierre Yameogo’s latest film Delwendé was selected for the prestigious “Un certain regard” section. Yameogo is one of Burkina Faso’s top film directors, and this is not the first time a film by a Burkinabè has been programmed at Cannes. Idrissa Ouedraogo brought global attention to Burkina Faso when his film Yaaba was selected for official competition and won the Prix de la Critique in 1989 and then again in 1990 when his film Tilaï won the prestigious Grand Prix du Jury. In 1997 Buud-Yam by Gaston Kaboré was programmed at Cannes. Kaboré is one of the most important film directors from Burkina Faso and a predominant personality of African cinema. In 2002 the festival selected three films made by African directors, Abouna, notre père by Mahamat Saleh Haroun (Chad), Heremakono by Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania/Mali) and Kabala by Assane Kouyaté (Mali). In 2004 Moolaadé by Ousmane Sembene (Senegal) won the prize in “Un certain regard,” and new, younger generation directors are also emerging and gaining international recognition. In fact, almost every year since 1966 when La noire de … by Ousmane Sembene was shown African films have been in the official festival programme. In spite of this impressive history it is still problematic to speak of a film industry per se in Burkina Faso or even of a regional film industry in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa.
