Koffi Gahou (22 October 1947 – 24 August 2019) was a Beninese artist, actor, and director.

Biography

Gahou was born in

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

on October 22, 1947. He studied from 1986 to 1989 at the Institute of Theatrical Studies at the

University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 The Sorbonne Nouvelle University (, also known as Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3, Paris 3, Sorbonne Nouvelle and the Sorbonne) is a public liberal arts and humanities university in Paris, France. It is one of the inheritors of the hi ...

, earning a teaching license. From 1985 to 1986 Gahou served an internship at the

Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique The Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (; "National Academy of Dramatic Arts"; abbr. CNSAD) is France's national drama academy, located in Paris and a constituent college of University PSL. It is a higher education institution r ...

in Paris and in 1988, had an internship at the Institut international de la marionnette. Beginning in 1974, he was self-educated in the mediums of plastic art, wall tapestry, sculpture, and interior architecture. Gahou joined the civil service as an artist and performed in the "Cerveaux noirs" troupe. Also a founder of the "Zama Hara" theater group, he had several exhibitions of his work in Africa, Europe, Cuba, and the United States. Gahou created the cloth work "Yovo Helou e, Akowe helou e" in 1990. It depicts slaves with their hands tied behind their backs, and was a great success. In 2000, Gahou played the stepbrother of Boubacar, a farmer, in Jean Odoutan's film '' Barbecue Pejo''. In a video statement in April 2019, Gahou demanded to be paid the 30 million CFA Francs that a Beninese MP was ordered to give him by the 3rd Commercial Chamber of the Cotonou Court. The matter stemmed from a 2007 contest that Gahou won but did not receive the prize money. Gahou died on 24 August 2019 in

Abomey Agbome or Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small tr ...

. His funeral was held on 25 September.

References

External links

Koffi Gahou
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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gahou, Koffi 1947 births 2019 deaths Beninese film directors Beninese artists People from Cotonou University of Paris alumni