Cliff A. Moustache (born 9 November 1952) is a Seycellois-Norwegian film director, actor, and playwright.

Biography

Moustache was born in the island nation of

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

. From a young age, he was interested in different forms of media and art. His mother wanted him to become a priest, and while he was not interested in this, he did serve as an altar boy in his youth. After completing his education in Seychelles, Moustache studied acting and directing in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England, graduating in 1979. After his graduation, Moustache resolved not to return to Seychelles and instead pursue opportunities in Europe. A friend of his, who was a Seychellois sailor, invited him to meet in Norway. Moustache ended up in the wrong city and missed his friend, who had left for Denmark. He ended up performing street theater before landing a job in a restaurant. Moustache enrolled in a Norwegian language course at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

and eventually acquired Norwegian citizenship. In 1981, he moved to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, where he worked with the state media for a short period before writing his own theater productions. He wrote and directed ''Vestvind/Vestvind'' in 1986. From 1989 to 1991, Moustache was a director for Artists for Liberation. In 1992, Moustache opened Nordic Black Theatre in Oslo, together with Jarl Solberg. Both continue to have a role in the theatre, with Moustache serving as the artistic director while Solberg is the general manager. The theatre is self-funded and produces its own shows, as well as taking part in collaborative projects with outside artists. In 1993, he established the theatre school Nordic Black Xpress to develops young talent in the arts. Nordic Black Xpress offers two-year courses to 8-12 students, who study for eight to nine hours, five to six days a week. Moustache is attempting to establish the school within the university system so it can grant three-year bachelor's degrees. Moustache directed his first short film ''Radio Knockout'' in 2000. It won awards at festivals in Scotland, England, Portugal and North America. Since then he has directed many short films and documentaries. In 2019 Mayor of Oslo

Marianne Borgen Marianne Borgen (born 2 June 1951) is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, who served as Mayor of Oslo from 2015 to 2023. She finished her secondary education at Sofienberg Upper Secondary School in 1975, graduated from the Un ...

awarded Moustache the Artist of the Year honor due to his contributions towards Norwegian society and the entertainment industry, becoming the first foreigner to win the award. He lectured at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

in 2019 and also had a lecture series in Vietnam. In March 2020, he directed the play ''After the Dream'' about the life of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

, which premiered at the

Oslo Opera House The Oslo Opera House () is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera house in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by S ...

References

External links

Cliff Moustache
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Interview with Cliff Moustache
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moustache, Cliff 1952 births Living people Norwegian people of Seychellois descent Seychellois emigrants to Norway Norwegian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Norwegian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Seychellois male actors 21st-century Seychellois male actors 20th-century Norwegian male actors 21st-century Norwegian male actors Seychellois theatre directors Seychellois film directors Norwegian theatre directors Norwegian film directors