Movie-Database

Sylvestre Amoussou

Biography

Sylvestre Amoussou is originally from Benin, but he has lived in France for three decades. After studying economics and social sciences, he began performing as a stage actor and in cinema and television shows from the mid-1980s. He worked with directors such as Cheik Doukouré from Guinea, and since 1999, he has also worked on the other side of the camera, directing a number of films which he also appears in. After making several short films, he also gained international recognition for his first feature film AFRICA PARADIS (2006). It tells the story of a Europe that has been destroyed by financial crises and whose inhabitants seek refuge in an Africa that seems like paradise in comparison. His film from 2016 L’ORAGE AFRICAIN again

looks at an issue from a refreshingly different perspective. He plays a president from a fictitious African country. He decides to stop allowing western corporations to plunder the country’s raw materials, and to instead nationalise them. As the sale of land to foreign profiteers is also banned in Amoussou’s film, it

provides a fitting commentary on “land grabbing”, the theme of this year’s festival.

Filmography

15. Afrika Film Festival - Eröffnung / Opening / Ouverture : Guest

L'ORAGE AFRICAIN (2016): Actor, Guest, Direction