Adama Drabo (1948 - July 15, 2009) was a

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Biography

Drabo was in the Malian capital of

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

, Mali, where he showed an interest in film since his childhood. For ten years, he was a schoolteacher in a Malian village, and in his spare time he painted and wrote plays. His career in film began as a hobby. In 1979, he joined the Centre national de production cinématographique (CNPC). There, he worked with

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Cheick Oumar Sissoko Cheick Oumar Sissoko (born 1945 in San, Mali) is a Malian film director and politician. Biography As a student in Paris, Cheick Oumar Sissoko obtained a DEA in African History and Sociology and a diploma in History and Cinema from the Ecole des ...

as an assistant director on the 1986 film ''Nyamanton'' and the 1989 film '' Finzan''. In 1988, he produced a short film, ''Nieba, la journée d'une paysanne''. In 1991, he produced his first full-length film, '' Ta Dona'' (Au feu!), which was nominated for the Gold Lion prize at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

, and featured at

FESPACO The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (, or FESPACO) is a film festival in Burkina Faso, held biennially in Ouagadougou, where the organization is based. It accepts for competition only films by African filmmakers and chief ...

. It was also screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1991 Cannes Film Festival The 44th Cannes Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 May 1991. French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmakers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, ...

. In 1997, he produced ''Taafé Fanga'', which tells the story of a

Dogon Dogon may refer to: *Dogon people, an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, in West Africa *Dogon languages The Dogon languages are a small closely related language family that is spoken by the Dogon people of Mali and may ...

woman who finds a magical mask and uses its powers to reverse

gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

s in her village. This film was featured in film festivals worldwide, including at

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

, and

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

. He died in Algeria from cardiac arrest during the "Festival culturel panafricain d’Alger".

Filmography

* ''Nieba, la journée d'une paysanne'' (Nieba, the Day of a Peasant Woman) (1988) * '' Ta Dona (Au feu!)'' (1991) * ''Taafé Fanga'' (1997) (The Power of the Skirt) *''Kokadjè : laver proprement'' (2003) * ''Faantan Fanga'' (2009) (The Power of the Poor) (mostly written wrongly as "Fantan fanga", which would mean "The Power of the Orphan" in Bambara)

Bibliography

Adama Drabo has written many

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, including: * ''Massa'', 1972 * ''Le Trésor de l'Askia'' (The Treasure of Askia), 1977 * ''L'Eau de Dieu tombera'' (The Water of God will fall), 1982 * ''Pouvoir de Pagne'' (Skirt Power), 1983

References

External links

* 1948 births 2009 deaths People from Bamako Malian film directors Malian dramatists and playwrights Malian male writers Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers 21st-century Malian people {{Africa-film-director-stub