Alain Kassanda is a Congolese French

film maker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a 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 screenwritin ...

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

and

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, and founder of Ajímatí Films. He is known for his highly acclaimed

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

s ''Trouble Sleep'' (2020), ''Colette & Justin'' (2022), and ''Coconut Head Generation'' (2023).

Early life

Born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, Kassanda left the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

for France at the age of 11. After studying communication, he began staging movie screenings and several film festivals in various Parisian theaters in 2003, and he was the film programmer for the movie theater Les 39 Marches in

Sevran Sevran () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Seine-Saint-Denis, northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History The current Hôtel d ...

, near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, for five years. He moved to

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

in 2015, where he shot his first medium-length film.

Career, recognition and awards

Kassanda's works have been screened at major film festivals across the globe, including the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

(IDFA), the International Film Festival and Form on Human Rights (FIFDH

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

), New York African Film Festival, Jean Rouch International Film Festival, Paris; Etats généraux du film documentaire in Lussas, Afrika Film Festival,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

;

Festival of African Cinema The Festival of African Cinema (FCAT), also known as Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival, originally African Film Showcase of Tarifa () (2004–2006) and formerly African Film Festival of Tarifa () (2007–2014), the African Film Festival of C ...

(FCAT), Biografilms in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Open City Documentary Festival in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, Maison Française Film Festival, among others. Kassanda's first work, ''Trouble Sleep'', received the Golden Dove for Best Short Film at the

DOK Leipzig DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every October in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural an ...

international festival for documentary and animated film in 2020 and the jury's special mention at the Cinéma du Réel. The film was screened at the Urban Planning Film Series at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in October 2022. At the FIFDH Geneva 2023, Kassanda's second work and debut full-length film, ''Colette and Justin'' (2022), which recalls his grandparents’ experience of Belgian colonialism and the nationalist struggles for Congolese independence, won the Gilda Vieira De Mello Award in the Creative Documentary Competition. The film premiered at the IDFA, and was nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature and the Beeld en Geluid IDFA ReFrame Award. The film also got the jury's special mention at the Biografilms. In September 2023, ''Colette & Justin'' was announced as winner of the 2023

African Studies Association The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North ...

Film Prize, and will be screened at the association's annual conference. Kassanda's latest work, ''Coconut Head Generation'' (2023), was selected for the New Directors/New Films at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. At the 2023

Cinéma du Réel Cinéma du réel (Lit. "Cinema of the Real") is an international documentary annual film festival held in Paris, France, since 1978. It is organised by the Bibliothèque publique d'information (BPI), and screenings take place at the Pompidou Cen ...

, the film won the Grand Prize and Special Mention for the Clarens Prize for Humanist Documentary Filmmaking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kassanda, Alain Year of birth missing (living people) Living people French people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Democratic Republic of the Congo film directors People from Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants