Sarah Maldoror
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Sarah Maldoror (19 July 1929 − 13 April 2020) was a French filmmaker of European and Guadeloupean descent. She is best known for her feature film '' Sambizanga'' (1972) on the 1961–1974 war in
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
.


Early life and education

Born Sarah Ducados in 1929 in Condom, Gers, in Southwest France, she was one of four children in her family. Her father was a black Frenchman from
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
. After his death when Sarah was young, her widowed mother struggled to support their family with her work as a maid. At times young Sarah was placed in an orphanage for care.


Move to Paris

By the 1950s Ducados had moved to Paris, where she became involved in artistic circles. While studying drama, she and a group of other black students formed a theatre company called ''Les
Griot A griot (; ; Manding languages, Manding: or (in N'Ko script, N'Ko: , or in French spelling); also spelt Djali; or / ; ) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. Griots are masters of communicatin ...
s''. They gave readings of Césaire and produced '' Huis Clos'', by
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...
, as well as such playwrights as Pushkin and Synge. Paris was also a center for activists for African independence. In this period Ducados chose her artist's surname from '' Les Chants de Maldoror'' by Lautréamont (the pseudonym of
Isidore Ducasse Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...
, a French-Uruguayan poet). About 1956 she met poet and Angolan nationalist Mário Pinto de Andrade, who had studied in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. They married and became "partners for life." In 1958 Maldoror persuaded
Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...
to give Les Griots first rights to perform his new play, '' Les Negres,'' to be directed Roger Blin, actor and theater director. Her coup captured the attention of intellectuals and artists. When the production opened in 1959, ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' described it as an "exciting work of the season." Maldoror and Andrade together focused their activism in Africa. They were invited to Guinea-Conakry by its new leader, Sekou Touré, who had helped it gain independence. Andrade increased his political activism, becoming a founder of the Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola and its first president. Maldoror had explored
Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
verse in Paris and was intrigued by the connections between its practitioners and French communists. In Guinea, she was given a scholarship to study film at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (also known as the Maxim Gorky Institute in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
). She worked with Mark Donskoi in 1961–62. During this period she also met Ousmane Sembène, a notable Senegalese author who became known as the "father" of modern African cinema. Sarah and Mário had two daughters, Annouchka de Andrade, born in Moscow in 1962, and Henda Ducados Pinto de Andrade.


Film career

After her studies, Maldoror with Andrade and their daughter lived in Morocco for a period, where their second daughter Henda was born in 1964. In 1964 the family went to
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, described as the "new anti-imperialist metropole of the Third World" since Algeria's independence in 1962. Here Madoror worked as an assistant on
Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama '' The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
's acclaimed film, '' The Battle of Algiers'' (1966), set during the nation's separation from France. She also worked as an assistant to Algerian director Ahmed Lallem on his film ''Elles'' (1966), a documentary about young Algerian women and their views of the future. She was a go-between the male directors and women subjects they wanted to film in this traditional society. These were her first projects in film. Maldoror set her debut short film, ' (1968), in Angola. It is based on a story by Angolan writer José Luandino Vieira. The title of this 17-minute film, ''Monangambée'', refers to the call used by Angolan anti-colonial activists to signal a village meeting. The film was shot with amateur actors in
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
. Her first feature film, '' Sambizanga'' (1972), was also based on a story by Vieira (''A vida verdadeira de Domingos Xavier''). It is set in 1961 at the onset of the
Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), known as the Armed Struggle of National Liberation (Portuguese: ''Luta Armada de Libertação Nacional'') in Angola, was a war of independence fought between the Angolan nationalist forces ...
. Maldoror filmed this in Francophone
Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
, as it would have been impossible for her to get permission in Angola. It explores the lives of various peoples at the time: villagers, may of whose men work on major public projects by the Portuguese; African police and militia working for the Portuguese; networks of resistance among Angolans in the villages and cities, and the struggles of women. It features a poor married woman whose husband Domingos Xavier is arrested and taken away by Portuguese police, and her persistent efforts to find him in the city of
Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...
, which had several kinds of prisons. He is tortured under interrogation and dies before she can reach him. The film was selected to represent Angola for the Director's Fortnight at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in 1971.


Reception

'' Guardian'' film writer Mark Cousins included ''Sambizanga'' in a 2012 list of the ten best African films, saying it was "as bold, as well-lit as
Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...
paintings". Maldoror is one of the first women to direct a feature film in Africa. Her subjects were women at the time of the independence movements, and her work is often included in studies of the role of African women in African cinema. She returned to France, completing numerous commercial as well as personal projects and films. Many of her early films have been lost. Maldoror died on 13 April 2020, at the age of 90, from
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
complications during the
COVID-19 pandemic in France The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was identified in Bordeaux. T ...
.


Awards

* A Tanit d'or at the 1972 Carthage Film Festival * Maldoror received the
National Order of Merit (France) National Order of Merit may refer to: * National Order of Merit (Algeria) * National Order of Merit (Bhutan) * National Order of Merit (Brazil) * National Order of Merit (Ecuador) * Ordre national du Mérite (France) * National Order of Merit ...
in 2011 from the Government of France


Legacy

*'' Sambizanga'' (1972), considered her masterpiece, is included in the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...
, with two accompanying commentaries, including a short one by American director
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
. * Together with ''Monangambé'' (1968) and ''L'hôpital de Leningrad/The Leningrad Hospital'' (1982), ''Sambizanga'' was featured in an evening of screenings by the ''
London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...
'' at The Garden Cinema, on 8 June 2024, in London. *''L'hôpital de Leningrad'', (1982) commissioned by France 2TV, set in the Soviet Union in the 1930s; based on a story by
Victor Serge Victor Serge (; born Viktor Lvovich Kibalchich, ; 30 December 1890 – 17 November 1947) was a Belgian-born Russian revolutionary, novelist, poet, historian, journalist, and translator. Originally an anarchist, he joined the Bolsheviks in Janu ...


Filmography

*''Monangambé'', 1968 *''Des fusils pour Banta'' (Guns for Banta), 1970 *''Carnaval en Guinée-Bissau'' (Carnival in Guinea-Bissau), 1971 *'' Sambizanga'', 1972 *''Un carneval dans le Sahel'' (Carnival in Sahel), 1977 *''Folgo, Ile de Feu'' *''Et les chiens se taisaient'' (And the dogs kept silent) *''Un homme, une terre'' (A man, a country) *''La Basilique de Saint-Denis'' *''Un dessert pour Constance'', 1983 *''Le cimetière du Père Lachaise'' *''Miro'' *''Lauren'' *''Robert Lapoujade, peintre'' *'' Toto Bissainthe, Chanteuse'' *'' René Depestre, poète'' *''L'hôpital de Leningrad'', (1982) commissioned by France 2TV, set in the Soviet Union in the 1930s; based on a story by
Victor Serge Victor Serge (; born Viktor Lvovich Kibalchich, ; 30 December 1890 – 17 November 1947) was a Belgian-born Russian revolutionary, novelist, poet, historian, journalist, and translator. Originally an anarchist, he joined the Bolsheviks in Janu ...
*''La littérature tunisienne de la Bibliothèque nationale'' *''Un sénégalias en Normandie'' *''
Robert Doisneau Robert Doisneau (; 14 April 1912 – 1 April 1994) was a French photographer. From the 1930s, he photographed the streets of Paris. He was a champion of humanist photography and, with Henri Cartier-Bresson, a pioneer of photojournalism. D ...
, photographe'' *''Le racisme au quotidien'' (Everyday racism), 1983 *''Le passager du Tassili'' (The Tassili passenger), 1987 *''
Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He ...
, le masque des mots'' (Aimé Césaire, the mask of words), 1986 *'' Emmanuel Ungaro, couturier'' *''
Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...
– Un masque à Paris'' *''Vlady, peintre'' *'' Léon G. Damas'', 1995 *''L'enfant-cinéma'', 1997 *''La tribu du bois de l'é'' (In the time of people)


Documentary about Sarah Maldoror

*''Sarah Maldoror ou la nostalgie de l’utopie'' by Anne Laure Folly, France /Togo, 1998.


See also

* Women's Cinema


References


External links

* é {{DEFAULTSORT:Maldoror, Sarah 1929 births 2020 deaths People from Condom, Gers French people of Guadeloupean descent French film directors French women film directors Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France