Cinema of Chad

Last updated
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, widely regarded as the most prominent filmmaker in Chad today MahametSalehHarounCannesMay10.jpg
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, widely regarded as the most prominent filmmaker in Chad today

The Cinema of Chad is small though growing. The first film made in the country appears to have been 1958 John Huston adventure film The Roots of Heaven , filmed when the country was still a part of French Equatorial Africa. [1] Documentary filmmaker Edouard Sailly made a series of shorts in the 1960s depicting daily life in the country. [2] During this period there were a number of cinemas in the country, including in N'Djamena Le Normandie, Le Vogue, the Rio, the Étoile and the Shéherazade, and also the Rex in Sarh, the Logone in Moundou and the Ciné Chachati in Abéché. [3] [4] [5] The film industry suffered severely in the 1970s-80s as Chad became engulfed in a series of civil wars and foreign military interventions; film production stopped, and all the cinemas in Chad closed down. Following the ousting of dictator Hissène Habré by Idriss Déby in 1990 the situation in the country stabilised somewhat, allowing the development of a nascent film industry, most notably with the work of directors Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Issa Serge Coelo and Abakar Chene Massar. [6] [7] Mahamat-Saleh Haroun has won awards at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, Venice International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival. [8] [9] In January 2011 Le Normandie in N'Djamena, said to now be the only cinema in Chad, re-opened with government support. [10] [11]

Contents

List of Chadian films

The following is a sortable list of films produced or shot in Chad. [12] [13]

YearTitleDirectorGenreNotes
1958 The Roots of Heaven John Huston Drama, actionAmerican film partly shot in Chad
1960 Les Tonnes de l'Audace - Mission Ténéré Tchad René Quinet & Louis Sommet Documentary
1966 Pêcheurs du Chari Edouard Sailly Ethnographic shortEnglish title: Fishers of the Chari
1966 Le Lac Tchad Edouard SaillyEthnographic shortEnglish title: Lake Chad
1966 Salam el Kebir Edouard SaillyEthnographic short
1966 Les Abattoirs de Forchia Edouard SaillyEthnographic shortEnglish title: The Abattoirs of Forchia
1966 Largeau Edouard SaillyEthnographic short
1967 Le Troisième Jour Edouard SaillyDrama, shortEnglish title: The Third Day
1969 L'Enfant du Tchad Edouard SaillyEthnographic shortEnglish title: The Infant of Chad
1972 A la Découverte du Tchad Edouard SaillyEthnographic shortEnglish title: Discovering Chad
1994 Maral Tanié Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Short
1994 Un Taxi pour Aouzou Issa Serge Coelo Drama short
1995 Goï-Goï Mahamat-Saleh HarounDrama short
1995 Dilemme au Féminin Zara Mahamat Yacoub TV filmEnglish title: Female Dilemma
1999 Bye Bye Africa Mahamat Saleh Haroun Drama
2000 Daresalam Issa Serge Coelo War Drama English title: Let There Be Peace
2002 Abouna Mahamat Saleh Haroun Drama English title: Our Father
2005 Addabache Djay Wara Abakar Chene Massar Drama
2006 Daratt Mahamat Saleh Haroun Drama English title: Dry Season
2006 DP75: Tartina City Issa Serge Coelo Drama
2006 Kalala Mahamat Saleh Haroun Documentary
2009 Le Pèlerin de Camp Nou Abakar Chene Massar Drama English title: Captain Majid (a literal translation would be The Pilgrim of Camp Nou)
2009 La Deliverance Richard HuntDocumentary
2010 A Screaming Man Mahamat Saleh Haroun Drama French title: Un homme qui crie
2013 GriGris Mahamat Saleh Haroun Drama
2015 Parler de Rose, Prisonnière de Hissène Habré Isabel Coixet DocumentaryEnglish title: Talking With Rose, Prisoner of Hissène Habré
2017 Hissein Habré, une Tragédie Tchadienne Mahamat Saleh HarounDocumentaryEnglish title: Hissène Habré, a Chadian Tragedy

See also

Related Research Articles

Chad Country in north-central Africa

Chad, officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a country at the crossroads of north-central Africa. Chad is a landlocked country bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. It has a population of 16 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city N'Djamena.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Chadian film director

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was born in 1961 in Abéché, Chad. He is a film director from Chad. He left Chad during the civil wars of the 1980s. Haroun is the first Chadian full-length film director. He both writes and directs his films. Though he has lived in France since 1982, most of his films have been set in and made in Chad.

Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh is a Chadian politician and opposition leader who headed the Party for Liberties and Development (PLD).

<i>Bye Bye Africa</i> 2002 French film

Bye Bye Africa is a 1999 award-winning Chadian film. It was the first by Chadian director Mahamat Saleh Haroun, who also starred. The docu-drama centers on a fictionalized version of Haroun.

Issa Serge Coelo is a Chadian film director. Born in Biltine, Chad, he studied history in Paris and film at the École supérieure de réalisation audiovisuelle (ÉSRA). He then worked as a cameraman at Métropole Télévision, France 3, TV5MONDE and CFI before creating the 1994 short film Un taxi pour Aouzou. The film was well-received, being nominated for a 1997 César Award in the category Best Short Film - Fiction. This was followed by the feature films Daresalam (2000) and Tartina City (2006). He also portrayed himself in the 1999 film Bye Bye Africa, which was directed by Chad's other prominent director Mahamat Saleh Haroun.

<i>Daresalam</i> 2000 Chadian film

Daresalam is a 2000 dramatic film by Chadian director Issa Serge Coelo. It has been considered one of the very few recent African films that has treated the theme of the internecine conflicts that have ravaged the African continent since independence. While set in a fictional African country called Daresalam, it reflects the civil war that ravaged Chad during the 1960s and 1970s.

<i>DP75: Tartina City</i> 2007 Chadian film

DP75: Tartina City is a 2007 dramatic film by Chadian director Issa Serge Coelo, now at his second feature film. The film has won the Innovation Award at the 31st Montreal World Film Festival. While the country where the action is set remains unnamed, the context is that of Chadian history in the 1980s and 1990s. The name's title is taken from the "tartina", a mixture of bread and sheep's bowels served to the prisoners.

Youssouf Djaoro is a Chadian film actor.

Youssouf Saleh Abbas is a Chadian political figure who was Prime Minister of Chad from April 2008 to March 2010. He was previously a diplomatic adviser and special representative of President Idriss Déby.

Renaissance FC or RFC is a football (soccer) club from Chad based in N'Djamena. The club won Chad Premier League 7 times, last time in 2007. Recently, it produced few Chad national football team players, such as Mondésir Alladjim, Yaya Kerim, Esaie Djikoloum and Hassan Diallo.

The Télé Tchad is the national broadcaster of the Central African state of Chad. Télé Tchad currently broadcasts in Arabic and French. It primarily broadcasts news, educational programming, cultural and religious programming, and local sport.

Tourbillon FC is a football (soccer) club from Chad based in N'Djamena. The club has won Chad Premier League title 6 times. The club plays home matches on Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya.

<i>A Screaming Man</i> 2010 French film

A Screaming Man is a 2010 drama film by Mahamat Saleh Haroun, starring Youssouf Djaoro and Diouc Koma. Set in 2006, it revolves around the civil war in Chad, and tells the story of a man who sends his son to war in order to regain his position at an upscale hotel. Themes of fatherhood and the culture of war are explored. Principal photography took place on location in N'Djamena and Abéché. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>GriGris</i> 2013 French film

GriGris is a 2013 French-Chadian drama film directed by Mahamat Saleh Haroun, starring Soulémane Démé, Mariam Monory, Cyril Guei and Marius Yelolo. It is about a 25-year-old man with a paralysed leg who dreams of becoming a dancer, and starts to work for a gang of petrol smugglers. The film was produced through the French Pili Films with co-production support from the Chadian Goï Goï Productions. It also received support from Canal+, Ciné+, TV5Monde, Canal Horizons and the CNC. Filming started 29 October 2012.

Mahamat Abdoul Kadre Oumar, better known as Baba Laddé is a Chadian Fulani rebel opposing the Chadian regime of Idriss Déby. He is sometimes referred to as Abdel Kader Baba Laddé.

Zara Mahamat Yacoub is a Chadian filmmaker, director and journalist.

Mounira Mitchala

Mounira Mitchala, also known as Sweet Panther, is a Chadian singer, author, performer, composer and actress.

Aché Coelo

Aché Coelo is a Chadian sociologist and film director.

Transitional Military Council (Chad) Transitional military government of Chad since April 2021

The Transitional Military Council is the ruling military junta in Chad. It announced the death of former President Idriss Déby on 20 April 2021, and declared that it would take charge of the government of Chad and continue hostilities against FACT rebels in the north of the country. It is chaired by Mahamat Idriss Déby, the son of the late President, making him the de facto President of Chad.

References

  1. IMDb - Chad, 8 October 2019
  2. Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala, p. 407
  3. Un cinéma renaît à N'Djamena, Jeune Afrique, 8 April 2011, retrieved 9 October 2019
  4. Que sont devenues les salles de cinéma au Tchad?, Africultures, 12 October 2010, retrieved 9 October 2019
  5. Patrick Ndiltah (6 March 2016), Les écrans noirs de N'Djaména : les ciné-clubs comme réponse à la fermeture des salles traditionnelles en Afrique : le cas du Tchad? , retrieved 9 October 2019
  6. (in French) Bambé, Naygotimti (April 2007); "Issa Serge Coelo, cinéaste tchadien: On a encore du travail à faire Archived 30 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine ", Tchad et Culture256.
  7. White, Jerry, Vertigo - Fatherlands: On Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, Africa and an Evolving Political Cinema , retrieved 8 October 2019
  8. Chang, Justin (23 May 2010). "'Uncle Boonmee' wins Palme d'Or". Variety . Retrieved 23 May 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. Goi-Goi: The Dwarf, 9 April 2011, retrieved 8 October 2019
  10. Dawn - Chad's only cinema dusts off its silver screen, 9 April 2011, retrieved 8 October 2019
  11. The Hindu The man who brought cinema to war-hit Chad, 9 December 2017, retrieved 8 October 2019
  12. IMDb - Chad, 8 October 2019
  13. Various (2000) Les cinémas d'Afrique: Dictionnaire, Editions Karthala, p. 407