03/02/2003

The film director, Idrissa Ouédraogo has had to step down from the Berlinale 2003 jury. He will be replaced by his young Mauritanian colleague, Abderrahmane Sissako. Sissako studied filmmaking at the world famous VGIK in Moscow. He came to the forefront of public attention with La vie sur terre in 1998, a film which won him numerous awards. Despite moving to Paris, Sissako remained faithful to his African roots and his latest feature, Heremakono, selected for "Un Certain Regard" in Cannes last year, is set in the Black Continent.