Idrissa Ouedraogo

Directing

Idrissa Ouedraogo

Born 1954-01-21 · Banfora, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso]

Idrissa Ouédraogo was born in Banfora, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), in 1954. He grew up in the town of Ouahigouya in the northern region of his homeland, and in 1976 he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree. To ensure a better life his farmer parents sent him to Ouagadougou for further education, where he attended the African Institute for Cinema Studies (Institut Africain d’Etudes Cinématographiques) completing his studies in 1981 with a masters. After studying in Kiev in the USSR he moved to Paris, where he graduated from the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) in 1985 with a DEA from the Sorbonne. On graduating from IAFEC in 1981, Ouédraogo set up his own independent film company, "The Future of Films", which became "Les Films de la Plaine". In 1981, before moving to Kiev, he worked for the Burkina Faso Directorate of Cinema Production (Direction de la Production Cinématographique du Burkina Faso), where he directed several short films.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

September 11 poster
6.4

Eleven directors from eleven countries each contribute an eleven-minute short reflecting on the events of 11 September 2001: A village teacher in Iran tries to explain to her young students what's happened; city kids in Burkina Faso think they've spotted Osama bin Laden; a deaf Frenchwoman in Manhattan writes a Dear John letter to a man who left that morning for work at the World Trade Center; a Chilean remembers Allende; events recall other deaths; a mother endures more than her son's death. Tones vary, as do the locales. Most concern coming to terms with the events of the day, but at least one confronts the viewer with tragedy and death.

September 11

2002

September 11 poster
6.4

Eleven directors from eleven countries each contribute an eleven-minute short reflecting on the events of 11 September 2001: A village teacher in Iran tries to explain to her young students what's happened; city kids in Burkina Faso think they've spotted Osama bin Laden; a deaf Frenchwoman in Manhattan writes a Dear John letter to a man who left that morning for work at the World Trade Center; a Chilean remembers Allende; events recall other deaths; a mother endures more than her son's death. Tones vary, as do the locales. Most concern coming to terms with the events of the day, but at least one confronts the viewer with tragedy and death.

September 11

2002

Lumière & Company poster
6.3

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Lumière & Company

1995

The Law poster
6.6

Saga returns to his village after an extended absence to discover that his father has taken Nogma, Saga's promised bride, for himself. Still in love with each other, the two begin an affair, although it would be considered incestuous.

The Law

1990

The Law poster
6.6

Saga returns to his village after an extended absence to discover that his father has taken Nogma, Saga's promised bride, for himself. Still in love with each other, the two begin an affair, although it would be considered incestuous.

The Law

1990

The Law poster
6.6

Saga returns to his village after an extended absence to discover that his father has taken Nogma, Saga's promised bride, for himself. Still in love with each other, the two begin an affair, although it would be considered incestuous.

The Law

1990

Kini & Adams poster
6.2

Kini and Adams are two friends leaving in a Zimbabwe village who dream of repairing an old broken car, and moving to the city and starting life over.

Kini & Adams

1997

Kini & Adams poster
6.2

Kini and Adams are two friends leaving in a Zimbabwe village who dream of repairing an old broken car, and moving to the city and starting life over.

Kini & Adams

1997

The Birthday poster
5.0

The beautiful Awa, from a poor background, decides to marry for money rather than love and ends up with the much older Karim. While married, she continues to love the much younger Bouba. On the happy occasion of Awa’s birthday, a macabre plan is to be set in motion.

The Birthday

2008

Africa, My Africa... poster
6.3

Eugene, an idealistic young African farmer and musician, decides to leave his village and family momentarily to try out his luck in the city. He makes new friends there, who accompany him on his musical career. He also meets up with Kassi, a childhood friend who has become a prostitute, with whom a new, closer friendship begins. However, when she dies from AIDS, Eugene is confronted by the harsh reality that his spontaneity and innocence blocked out and decides to put his singing talents and fame as a singer to the service of fighting the disease of AIDS. Once back home in his village, the reunion with his wife and children make him realize that life and hope are more powerful than anything else.

Africa, My Africa...

1994

Interactions - When Cinema Looks to Nature poster
NR

Twelve international filmmakers create connections between humans and animals, through biodiversity, ecosystem, climate change, environment and water risks.

Interactions - When Cinema Looks to Nature

2022

Samba Traoré poster
6.4

The only surviving accomplice of a gas station robbery gone bad, Samba Traoré flees the scene with a suitcase full of cash. However, his newfound happiness is put to the test as he struggles to cope with the moral crisis of his crimes.

Samba Traoré

1993

Samba Traoré poster
6.4

The only surviving accomplice of a gas station robbery gone bad, Samba Traoré flees the scene with a suitcase full of cash. However, his newfound happiness is put to the test as he struggles to cope with the moral crisis of his crimes.

Samba Traoré

1993

Samba Traoré poster
6.4

The only surviving accomplice of a gas station robbery gone bad, Samba Traoré flees the scene with a suitcase full of cash. However, his newfound happiness is put to the test as he struggles to cope with the moral crisis of his crimes.

Samba Traoré

1993

The Heart's Cry poster
6.2

This drama focuses upon the psychological adjustment problems of a young boy whose family moves him from Africa to Paris, France. Moctar, a boy whose first 11 years were spent in a small village in Mali, is having difficulty adjusting to his new life in Paris. After several years in Paris, Moctar suddenly sees a terrible hyena in the street. When Moctar tries to explain his vision, he becomes the laughingstock of his peers and a patient for the school psychologist. No one believes Moctar, not even his parents, until he is befriended by Paulo who helps Moctar understand.

The Heart's Cry

1995

The Heart's Cry poster
6.2

This drama focuses upon the psychological adjustment problems of a young boy whose family moves him from Africa to Paris, France. Moctar, a boy whose first 11 years were spent in a small village in Mali, is having difficulty adjusting to his new life in Paris. After several years in Paris, Moctar suddenly sees a terrible hyena in the street. When Moctar tries to explain his vision, he becomes the laughingstock of his peers and a patient for the school psychologist. No one believes Moctar, not even his parents, until he is befriended by Paulo who helps Moctar understand.

The Heart's Cry

1995

Stories on Human Rights poster
2.2

20 short films about human rights.

Stories on Human Rights

2008

The Pariahs of Cinema poster
10.0

Within the framework of the “Half a Century of Locarno, Thoughts on the Future” project, seven directors, Idrissa Ouedraogo among them, have the chance to express their vision of the future of the film industry by means of a short film. “The state of the film industry the world is a vast issue,” says the director from Burkina Faso. “I would rather speak about my films, about African films and their relationship with the world”.

The Pariahs of Cinema

1997

Yaaba poster
6.5

A small African village. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine that saves her.

Yaaba

1989

Yaaba poster
6.5

A small African village. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine that saves her.

Yaaba

1989

Yaaba poster
6.5

A small African village. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine that saves her.

Yaaba

1989

Guimba the Tyrant poster
6.1

The movie shows the rise and fall of a cruel and despotic village chief Guimba, and his son Jangine in a fictional village in the Sahel of Mali.

Guimba the Tyrant

1996

No artwork available
8.0

Directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo.

Obi

1991

The Choice poster
6.0

Poverty and misery are rife in Gourga, a village in the Sahel. The inhabitants must choose: stay and await international assistance or leave for more fertile regions in the country.

The Choice

1987