--- name: "Souleymane Cissé" canonical: "https://film.one/person/souleymane-cisse" fi1m_id: "souleymane-cisse" imdb_id: "nm0162878" tmdb_id: 1075658 wikidata_id: "Q1248110" roles: ["Producer","Director"] born: "21 April 1940" died: "19 February 2025" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "producer" average_over: 0 updated: "2026-09-26T01:28:04.779675+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Souleymane Cissé ## Identity Souleymane Cissé - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/souleymane-cisse - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** souleymane-cisse - **IMDb ID:** nm0162878 - **TMDB ID:** 1075658 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1248110 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9_(film_director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1248110, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162878/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1075658 Producer and director. Born 21 April 1940 in Bamako, Mali. Died 19 February 2025. ## Details - **Work:** Producer, Director - **Born:** 21 April 1940, Bamako, Mali - **Died:** 19 February 2025 - **Also known as:** Сулейман Сиссе, 술레이만 시세, 슐레이만 시세 - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9_(film_director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1248110, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0162878/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1075658 ## Biography Souleymane Cissé (21 April 1940 – 19 February 2025) was a Malian film director, screenwriter and producer. Born in Bamako, he attended secondary school in Dakar before returning to Mali after independence. He began his career as a projectionist and cameraman, then studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, graduating in 1969. Cissé directed documentaries and short films for the Malian Ministry of Information before his feature debut *Den Muso* (1975). His subsequent films include *Baara* (1978) and *Finye* (1982), both of which won prizes at Fespaco. He is best known for *Yeelen* (1987), which he wrote, directed and produced; it received the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the first award won there by a director from sub-Saharan Africa. Later work includes *Waati* (1995). In 2023 he received the Carrosse d'Or at Cannes. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theconversation.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Yeelen* (1987), Fi1m 84, Producer, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/yeelen.md) ## Complete filmography (15) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Our House* (2015), Director, Producer, Writer - *Henri Langlois vu par...* (2014), Director - *O Sembene!* (2013), Director - *Tell Me Who You Are* (2009), Writer, Director - *Time* (1995), Producer, Director, Writer - *Cinéastes de notre temps : Souleymane Cissé* (1991), Actor - *Ouaga* (1988), Actor - *Yeelen* (1987), Director, Writer, Producer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/yeelen.md) - *The Wind* (1983), Director, Writer, Producer - *Les chanteurs traditionnels des îles Seychelles* (1978), Director - *Work* (1978), Director, Writer - *The Young Girl* (1975), Director, Script, Dialogue - *Five Days in a Life* (1973), Director, Writer - *Postgraduate* (1969), Director - *Sources of Inspiration* (1968), Director ## Gallery - ![Souleymane Cissé in 2009, at the third International Festival "Cines del Sur" in Granada.](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-f74746030299.jpg) Souleymane Cissé in 2009, at the third International Festival "Cines del Sur" in Granada. — Cines del Sur, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Souleymane Cissé](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-bd48ac69c4a6.jpg) Souleymane Cissé — Magicwindowz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Ciss%C3%A9_2018.jpg/1280px-Ciss%C3%A9_2018.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Souleymane Cissé receiving an award at Cines del Sur in 2009.](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-9594880fda18.jpg) Souleymane Cissé receiving an award at Cines del Sur in 2009. — Cines del Sur Granada Film Festival, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Entrega_de_la_Alhambra_de_Honor_2009_a_Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Souleymane Cissé with film reel at Cines del Sur 2009.](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-adbb56074ffb.jpg) Souleymane Cissé with film reel at Cines del Sur 2009. — Cines del Sur Granada Film Festival, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9_with_film_reel.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Souleymane Cissé](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-754e6f57bad9.jpg) Souleymane Cissé — Image via TMDB - ![Souleymane Cissé receiving an award at Cines del Sur in 2009.](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-390b9f9c8426.jpg) Souleymane Cissé receiving an award at Cines del Sur in 2009. — Cines del Sur Granada Film Festival, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Entrega_de_la_Alhambra_de_Honor_2009_a_Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9-2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Souleymane Cissé next to projector, at Cines del Sur 2009.](https://film.one/media/person/3925457/gallery-ff0485cfdaa3.jpg) Souleymane Cissé next to projector, at Cines del Sur 2009. — Cines del Sur Granada Film Festival, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Souleymane_Ciss%C3%A9_next_to_projector.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Other awards — 4 won, 1 nominated - Independent Spirit Awards 1989: Best Foreign Film (nominated), for *Yeelen* - Jury Prize 1987: Jury Prize (won), for *Yeelen* - Sutherland Trophy 1987: Sutherland Trophy (won), for *Yeelen* - Stallion of Yennenga 1983: Stallion of Yennenga (won) - Stallion of Yennenga 1979: Stallion of Yennenga (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/souleymane-cisse