Bassek Ba Kobhio
Bassek Ba Kobhio | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1957 Nindjé, French Cameroon |
| Died | 12 May 2026 (aged 69) Yaoundé, Cameroon |
| Citizenship | Cameroonian |
| Occupations | Film director, producer, writer, diplomat |
| Years active | 1980s–2026 |
| Notable work | Le grand blanc de Lambaréné |
Bassek Ba Kobhio (1 January 1957 – 12 May 2026) was a Cameroonian filmmaker and writer who was the founder of the Écrans Noirs film festival in Yaounde, Cameroon.[1][2] He was also the Director of the Higher Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Professionals of Central Africa (ISCAC) in Yaounde, the first-ever tertiary training institution for cinematography in the Central Africa sub-region.[3]
Background
Bassek Ba Kobhio was born in Nindjé in 1957.[4] He started as a writer, winning a short story award while still in high school in 1976.
Kobhio's first feature film, Sango Malo (1991) was an auto-adaptation of his earlier novel. The film portrayed a new village school teacher whose indifference to traditional customs causes conflict with the school's headmaster and disrupts village life. His second film, Le grand blanc de Lambaréné (1995), brought out the complexities of character of Albert Schweitzer. Despite clear differences of setting and subject matter, both films "offer vivid portraits of flawed idealists who wish to do good, but are authoritarian, puritanical, at odds with their surroundings and neglectful towards their womenfolk".[5]
In 2003 he collaborated with Didier Ouénangaré on The Silence of the Forest, an adaptation of a novel by Étienne Goyémidé.[6]
Cultural leadership
Écrans Noirs Film Festival
In 1997, he founded the Écrans Noirs Film Festival in Yaoundé, which became a major platform for African cinema.[8]
Works
Films
- Sango Malo / The Village Teacher, 1990
- Le grand blanc de Lambaréné / The Great White Man of Lambaréné, 1995
- Musique s'en va-t-en guerre [Music goes to war], 1997. Documentary.
- (with Didier Ouénangaré) Le silence de la forêt / The Forest, 2003
Books
- Sango Malo: le maître du canton [Sango Malo: the village teacher], Paris: L'Harmattan, 1981
- Les eaux qui débordent: nouvelles, Paris: L'Harmattan, 1984
Legacy
Bassek Ba Kobhio is considered one of the most influential figures in African cinema. His contributions span filmmaking, cultural institution-building, and the international promotion of African audiovisual industries.[1]
His founding of the Écrans Noirs Festival and his cinematic works helped shape the development of the film sector in Central Africa.[2]
References
- 1 2 Armes, Roy (2008). Dictionary of African Filmmakers. Indiana University, Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35116-6.
- 1 2 "Bassek Ba Kobhio, l'homme qui met le cinéma au cœur de l'Afrique". TV5MONDE (in French). 17 July 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ "New cinematography institution to boost film industry". University World News. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ Roy Armes (2008). Dictionary of African Filmmakers. Indiana University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-253-35116-6.
- ↑ Roy Armes (2006). African Filmmaking: North and South of the Sahara. Indiana University Press. p. 100. ISBN 0-253-21898-5.
- ↑ Stefanson, Blandine; Petty, Sheila, eds. (2014). "Literary Adaptation". Directory of World Cinema Africa. Vol. 39. Intellect Books. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-78320-391-8.
- ↑ Ndom, Alain-Claude (12 May 2026). "Mort de Bassek Ba Kobhio, père des Écrans Noirs et géant du cinéma africain". 237online.com (in French). Retrieved 12 May 2026.
- ↑ "Bassek Ba Kobhio, fondateur du festival Écrans noirs". Cameroon CEO. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2026.