Sarah Maldoror, Pioneer of Pan-African cinema has died from COVID-19 complications in Paris, France. She was 90.
Maldoror’s family announced her demise on Monday, RFI, a French-based news outlet reports.
Sunu Jounal, a platform for amplifying African voices, took to its social media page to pay its condolence to the family of the deceased, describing her as a “evolutionary cinéaste.”
“We are very saddened by the news of the great Sarah Maldoror’s passing. She was a revolutionary cinéaste and her films helped shape and solidify the Pan-African cinematic canon. Rest in peace Sarah Maldoror. Our thoughts are with her family,” the tweet reads.
Who is Sarah Maldoror
Born Sarah Ducados to a Guadeloupian father and a mother from the southwest of France (Gers) on July 19, 1929, the filmmaker chose her artist’s name in remembrance of ‘The Songs of Maldoror’, the work of Lautréamont, a French poet.
Maldoror became prominent following the release of Sambizanga, her movie which chronicled the 1961–1974 war in Angola.
She was also famous for her anti-colonialist work and was one of the prominent 1970’s/1980s black francophone directors who really started questioning post-colonial black French condition.
She had a blissful movie career, securing several awards including a ‘Tanit d’or’ at the 1972 Carthage Film Festival.
Maldoror was also awarded with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite – for services to culture in 2012.
The movie star’s death has continued to draw tributes from various quarters for her contributions to various African liberation movements.
In an interview with American media, the late filmmaker agreed with the need to put women in the spotlight.
“African women must be everywhere. They must be in the images, behind the camera, in the editing room and involved in every stage of the making of a film. They must be the ones to talk about their problems.”