Niger / 2004 / 69mins / Documentary / Songhoy, Hausa, Zarma and French

Zalika Souley, Niger's first female movie star, is the focus of this 2004 documentary, a study of the rise and decline of the West African nation's independent cinema. Director Rahmatou Keita tracks Souley's career from her breakthrough in a western through the femme fatale roles that led to her being rejected by conservative Muslim audiences, who equated her with her characters. Souley was eventually forced to retire; now in her 50s and the mother of four children, she's all but forgotten.

Rahmatou Keïta

Born in Niamey (Niger), Rahmatou Keïta is a daughter of the Sahel. She is Fulaani, Songhoy and Mandingo. She studied Philosophy and Linguistics in Paris, France. With her dreams of becoming a writer and a filmmaker in mind, she started to work as a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines and later moving to radio and television as a commentator, hostess, and reporter. From 1987 to 1993, she worked on international television stations and was the first African journalist (including the diaspora) to appear on French television. She received two coveted "7 d'or" awards for the television magazine's team L'assiette anglaise on the French TV Channel Antenne 2 in 1988 and 1989. In 1993, she wrote SDF, Sans Domicile Fixe (Lattès 1993), a book about the homeless in France; she went on to direct documentary films. Al'lèèssi… An African Actress (2004) was her first feature film. Al’lèèssi means “fate” in Songhoy (or Sonrhay). The documentary relates the story of the pioneers of African cinema. It was selected into Cannes Film Festival and won the Sojourner Truth Award. Her first narrative feature, The Wedding Ring (2016) received the Special Jury Award at the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival and Best Picture at FESPACO. A committed militant of the African cause, Rahmatou Keïta is a founding member of the Panafrican Association for Culture (ASPAC) and takes an active part in the dialogue of cultures and civilizations. With some friends, she went on to start Sonrhay Empire Productions, which is dedicated to producing films representing the underserved communities on the African continent. Learn More