Photo : FranckYN, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bassek ba Kobhio
Director of "Sango Malo" and founder of the Écrans Noirs festival
Born in 1957-01-01 · Died in 2026-05-12
Related city : Yaoundé
On screen : Chocolat (1988), Sango Malo (1991)
Who are they?
Bassek ba Kobhio was a Cameroonian writer and director, born on 1 January 1957 in Nindjé, in the Ndom district of the Littoral Region, who died in Yaoundé on 12 May 2026, aged 69. After studying sociology and philosophy at the University of Yaoundé, he published short stories and novels, headed the government's film department and was first assistant director to Claire Denis on "Chocolat" (1988).
What made them famous
His first feature, "Sango Malo" (1991), adapted from his own novel, follows a young teacher who shakes up a village school and its elders; shown at Cannes in Un Certain Regard, it won the Audience Award at the Milan African Film Festival. He went on to make "Le Grand Blanc de Lambaréné", about Albert Schweitzer, and "Le Silence de la forêt" (2003), co-directed with Didier Ouénangaré.
Key facts
- In 1997 he founded the Écrans Noirs festival in Yaoundé, devoted to African cinema and to Central Africa in particular.
- He headed the Higher Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Professionals of Central Africa (ISCAC) in Yaoundé, the first tertiary film school in the subregion.
- As a writer he published the short-story collection "Les Eaux qui débordent" (1984) and the novel "Sango Malo, le maître du canton" with L'Harmattan; his last film, "Gouverneurs de la rosée", dates from 2018.