Portal:African cinema/Selected birthdays/5



Robert Anengo  (b. April 22, 1986) is a Kenyan actor and casting director who is best known for his role in the TV series, Kona. He featured in Chiwetel Ejiofor’s critically acclaimed film, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2020) which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. He earned a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2020 AMAA Awards for his role in 40 Sticks (2020).

Gaston Kaboré (b. 23 April 1956) is a Burkinabe director and important figure in the Burkina Faso film industry. In 1997, he was awarded an Etalon d’Or at the Pan-African Festival of Cinema and Television of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) for Buud Yam, a historical film drawing on African oral tradition. The film’s sequel, Wênd Kûuni won the 1985 César Award for best Francophone film. An advocate for strengthening capacity in the African audiovisual industry, in 2003 he founded the Imagine Institute based in Ouagadougou, a training school for film and television professionals.

Souleymane Cissé (b. April 21 1940) is a Malian film director regarded as one Africa’s most influential filmmakers.. His films explore themes of tradition, modernity, and the clash between rural and urban life in Africa. His 1987 film, Yeelen based on a legend told by the Bambara people, which has been called “conceivably the greatest African film ever made”, won the Jury Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first African film to win a prize in the festival's history. His other notable productions include Baara (1978), Waati (1995) and Tell Me Who You Are (2009).

Kagiso Lediga (b. May 6, 1978) is a South African comedian, actor and filmmaker who first came to fame for his television comedies such as The Pure Monate Show and the Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola. He made his first feature film, Matwetwe, a coming-of-age drama and the romantic comedy, Catching Feeling, the first South African film to stream globally on Netflx. Lediga’s next project was the Netflix crime drama series Queen Sono about a secret agent secret South African clandestine agent who tackles criminal operations while dealing with crises in her personal life.

Mildred Okwo (b. 29 April, 1966) is a Nigerian film director and producer. Her filmography includes 30 Days (2016), The Meeting (2012) Suru L’ere (2016) and La Femme Anjola (2019) an African neo-noir crime thriller and most recent film. The film earned her her fourth AMVCA nomination, this time for best picture. She is also co-founder of the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee which screens Nigerian films to be submitted for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy awards.