Dani Kouyaté

Dani Kouyaté
Kouyaté at the Cinémathèque Française for the premiere of his film Ouaga-Saga in 2004.
Born	Dani Kouyaté (1961-06-04) June 4, 1961 (age 55) Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
Occupation	Film director and griot
Years active	1989-present
Awards	Best First Film Prize (FESPACO) 1995 Keïta! l'Héritage du griot Junior Prize (Cannes) 1995 Keïta! l'Héritage du griot

Dani Kouyaté (born June 4, 1961) is a film director and griot from Burkina Faso, which the BBC describes as "Africa's most important film-making country".

Kouyaté was born in 1961 in Bobo-Dioulasso. He is the son of one of the first Burkinabé actors, Sotigui Kouyaté, and is a member of the Mandeng ethnic group. Kouyatés have served as griots for the Keita clan since the 13th century. The Kouyatés guard customs, and their knowledge is authoritative amongst Mandengs. Keitas have to provide amenities to Kouyatés, who in turn should not hesitate to ask for Keita help. The word Kouyaté translates as "there is a secret between you and me".

The junior Kouyaté trained at the Institute Africain d'Education Cinématographique in Burkina Faso's capital of Ouagadougou before travelling to France for five years of study at the Sorbonne where he obtained a Master's degree in Cultural and Social Marketing. He also received a degree from the International School of Anthropology in Paris, and an advanced degree in Cinema from the Université de Vincennes à Saint-Denis. From 1990 to 1996 Kouyaté toured the United States and Europe as part of "La Voix du Griot" ("Voice of the Griot"), a storytelling theater show founded by his father. He began his film career in 1989 with the short film Bilakoro, which was co-directed with Issa Traoré de Brahima. In 1992 he was co-founder of the film production company Sahelis Productions with Sékou Traoré and Issa Traoré de Brahima. He directed a number of other short films before the release of his first full-length feature, Keïta! l'Héritage du griot in 1995.

Sundjata Keita's 13th century epic, Sundjata, was Kouyaté's inspiration for the film, which depicts a middle-class family in Ouagadougou. He shot it in Ouagadougou, Sindou, and Ouahabou. His father played the central role of Djeliba Kouyaté, who was imagined as an old dying man by Dani Kouyaté, though was portrayed as more forceful than that.Keïta! received the Best First Film Prize from the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco) and was awarded the Junior Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In a 1995 interview, he reflected on the experience and commenting on traditional society, saying: