Paulin Soumanou Vieyra
Paulin Soumanou Vieyra was a Beninese/Senegalese film director and historian. As he lived in Senegal after the age of 10, he is more associated with that nation. He is known for his 1955 film Afrique-sur-Seine, the first Francophone African film.
Early life and education
Paulin Soumanou Vieyra was born on 31 January 1925 in Porto Novo, Dahomey.He was educated in Paris, France, where he studied at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques.
Career
In 1955 in Paris, Vieyra shot the first Francophone African film, Afrique-sur-Seine.His other important achievements for film in Africa include being one of the co-founders of the Fédération Panafricaine des Cinéastes in 1969.
He served as director of Actualités Sénégalaises, an important newsreel service in the two decades following Senegal’s Independence.
In 1971, Vieyra was a member of the jury at the 7th Moscow International Film Festival. Two years later, he was a member of the jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1985 he was a member of the jury at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.
Death
He died in Paris on 4 November 1987, at the age of 62. His papers have been donated by his son, Stéphane Vieyra, to Indiana University's Black Film Center and Archive.Works
Films
- 1954 : C'était il y a quatre ans
- 1955 : Afrique-sur-Seine
- 1957 : L'Afrique à Moscou
- 1958 : Le Niger aujourd’hui
- 1959 : Les présidents Senghor et Modibo Keita; Avec les Africaines à Vienne; Présence Africaine à Rome
- 1960 : Indépendance du Cameroun, Togo, Congo, Madagascar
- 1961 : Une nation est née
- 1963 : Lamb; Voyage du président Senghor en Italie; Voyage présidentiel en URSS
- 1964 : Avec l’ensemble national; Écrit du Caire; Sindiely; Voyage du président Senghor au Brésil
- 1965 : N'Diongane
- 1966 : Le Sénégal au festival national des arts nègres; Môl
- 1967 : Au marché; La bicyclette; Le gâteau; Le rendez-vous
- 1974 : Écrit de Dakar; L’art plastique
- 1976 : L'Habitat rural au Sénégal; L’Habitat urbain au Sénégal
- 1981 : Birago Diop; En résidence surveillée, L’envers du décor; Les oiseaux
- 1982 : ''Iba N'diaye''