Gaston Kaboré (born 1951) is a Burkinabé film director and an important figure in Burkina Faso's film industry.[1] He has won awards for his films Wend Kuuni and Buud Yam.
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Kaboré was born in 1951 in Bobo-Dioulasso in Upper Volta.[2]
He studied history at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, receiving his license and Maîtrise (Master's) degrees.[2] While researching the history of racial prejudice against Africa by its colonisers for his Maîtrise, Kaboré was drawn to contemporary documentary films which, he felt, continued to propagate such stereotypes.[2] To better understand the "language of cinema", he decided to go to ESEC film school. Originally intending to use film as a medium for disseminating historical knowledge, he gradually grew passionate about film for its own sake. He received his degree in Film Production in 1976.[2] He returned to his native country to be director of the Centre National du Cinéma. His film Wend Kuuni was only the second feature film produced in Burkina Faso.[1] His work for the screen, focusing on his country’s rural heritage, has received numerous international awards, including a French César award.
In 1997 he won the first prize at the 15th Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) with the film Buud Yam.[2]
From 1985 to 1997 he was the ll as Secretary-General of Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers.[3] Since 2005 he has had a training school, Imagine, in Ouagadougou which trains professionals in the television and cinema industries.[1][3]
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