Mahamat Saleh Haroun
Chadian director, born in Abéché in 1960.
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was twenty years old when civil war broke out in Chad: he left for France, where he studied film then journalism. Between 1991 and 1996, he directed several short films, including Maral Tanié (1994). The first Chadian director to focus on history, the deep rift in his country lies at the heart of all of his films, starting with his first feature, Bye Bye Africa (1999), which won the Award for Best First Film in Venice. Next came Abouna (2002), selected at the Directors’ Fortnight, then Daratt (2006), which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Mostra. In 2010, A Screaming Man won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and in 2014, Grigris was in official competition. In 2016, he directed the documentary Hissein Habré: A Chadian Tragedy. He is the author of the novel, Djibril ou les ombres portées published in 2017, and has been the Minister of Tourism Development, Culture and Handicrafts in Chad since 2019. His film Lingui, les liens sacrés has been selected for official competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.Bye Bye Africa (1999) – Abouna (2002) – Daratt (2006) – Sex, Okra & Salted Butter (TV movie, 2008) – A Screaming Man (2010) – Grigris (2013) – Hissein Habré, A Chadian Tragedy (2016) – A Season in France (2017) – Lingui (2021)