Paulin Soumanou Vieyra
Benin-born, Senegal-raised filmmaker, theorist, and historian Paulin Soumanou Vieyra was a key figure, as both practitioner and thinker, in the creation and articulation of what a post-colonial African cinema would and could be. Along with producing essential texts like “Film and the Problem of Languages in Africa“ and “Remarks on African Cinema,” founding the important Fédération Panafricaine des Cinéastes, and mentoring the likes of Ousmane Sembène, Djibril Diop Mambéty, and Ababacar Samb-Makharam, Vieyra turned out a vital body of film work, documenting the birth of a new continental consciousness.
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- 1925-01-31 · Porto-Novo, Benin
- Died
- 1987-11-04
Known for
- Xala (1975) — Producer
- Ceddo (1978) — Production Manager
- Devil in the Flesh (1947) — Passer-by (uncredited)
- Emitaï (1973) — Production Director
- Africa on the Seine (1955)
- Tauw (1970) — Production Manager
- Emile the African (1948) — Passer-by (uncredited)
- After Love (1948) — A Passerby (uncredited)
- Under House Arrest (1981) — Director
- Behind the Scenes: The Making of Ceddo (1981) — Director
- Birago Diop, Storyteller (1981) — Director
- Iba N'Diaye (1982) — Himself - Interviewer (uncredited)
- Le Sénégal et le Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres (1966) — Director
- N'Diongane (2026) — Director
- Sindiely (1965) — Director
- A Nation Is Born (2026) — Director