About
Aïssa Maïga is a French-Senegalese actress, director, and activist born in Dakar in 1975. She began her film career in 1997 and gained recognition for her role in Bamako (2006), earning a César nomination for Most Promising Actress, a first for a Black actress. She has worked with renowned directors such as Michael Haneke and Michel Gondry. In 2018, she co-founded the DiasporAct collective and initiated the book Noire n'est pas mon métier, denouncing the lack of diversity in French cinema. She has also directed documentaries on Black representation and the climate crisis.
* 1975-05-25
Major works
- Noire n'est pas mon métier (2018)collective essay
- Regard Noirdocumentary
- Marcher sur l'eaudocumentary
Key milestones
- 2007Nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Bamako, first Black actress nominated.
- 2018Co-founded the DiasporAct collective and published Noire n'est pas mon métier.
- 2020Impromptu speech denouncing lack of diversity at the César Awards ceremony.
Themes
Diversity and representationActivismEngaged cinemaIdentityClimate
Sources: id.loc.gov · villa-albertine.org