Mali

Born in Bamako, Mali, Kadiatou Konaté is a film director and screenwriter. Her family, the Konates, were royalty that had once belonged to the Gbara of Old Mali. She studied at the University of Dakar before starting her career as production assistant on Souleymane Cissé’s film, Yeelen (Brightness – 1987). After several productions between 1988-1989, she directed two animated films in1993: L’Enfant et l’Hygiène corporelle and Circulation routière, followed in 1994 by L’Enfant terrible (The Terrible Child) in co-production with the Atelier Graphoui, Belgium. Konaté also directed documentary films, such as Femmes et Développement (1995) and Un mineur en milieu carcéral (1997). Her 2008 documentary Daman Da (Yellow Mirage), follows the day-to-day lives of gold miners in Mali. She was drawn to the topic after watching a local news report on the subject. The film showed the difficulties faced by the miners, working in crude conditions, but also the honesty and work ethic they displayed.

Filmography

L’Enfant et l’Hygiène corporelle (1993)
Circulation routière (1993)
L’Enfant terrible / The Terrible Child (1994)
Femmes et Développement (1995)
Musow Bemi / Dreams of Women (1995)
Un mineur en milieu carcéral (1997)
Petit à petit (2001)
Daman da, the Yellow Mirage (2008)