Fanta Régina Nacro

Fanta Régina Nacro (born 4 September 1962) is a film director from Burkina Faso. She is best known for directing the films La Nuit de la Verité (Night of Truth) (2004) and Un Certain Matin (Some Morning) (1991), both of which attracted international attention.

Nacro is also known for being the first woman from Burkina Faso to direct a feature film and is a founding member of the Guilde Africaine des Realisateurs et Producteurs (The African Guild of Directors and Producers).

Nacro grew up in rural Burkina Faso with the intention of becoming a midwife. Later realizing that her passion was in storytelling, Nacro's interest towards working in the film industry began to grow. She credits a neighbour for informing her about the film school, Institut d'Education Cinématographique de Ouagadougou (INAFEC) in Burkina Faso.

While studying at the INAFEC, Nacro met Idrissa Ouedraogo, a director for whom she would later work for as an editor. She received her first degree in audiovisual science and techniques from INAFEC in 1986.

She also earned a Master’s Degree in Film and Audiovisual Studies at the Sorbonne.

Nacro's first work in cinematography came during a collaboration during her studies at INAFEC. Her film department had partnered with the film department at Howard University led by Professor Abiyi Ford. She credits this collective project, in which she met filmmaker Zeinabu Davis, as her "first cinematographic experience. It was very important for me and allowed me to define my role in this profession," (p. 216). She has since stated that although future collaborative projects between African directors and African American directors would be valuable, finding funding would be a key challenge.

Noting that during her education, Nacro had to learn all the different facets of filmmaking, including editing and cinematography, these skills are what helped her start her career in the film industry. Beginning as a television announcer, and then working in continuity and editing, Nacro soon started working as a director and made her first film, Un Certain Matin (1991).

In 1999, Nacro, along with Jean-Marie Teno and Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, created the Guilde Africaine des Realisateurs et Producteurs (The African Guild of Directors and Producers) to expand the work of African filmmakers. The initiative has worked to bring more attention to African Cinema in an effort to support the industry.

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