FILM DIRECTOR

Souleymane Cissé

1940 - 2025

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Icon of person Souleymane Cissé

Souleymane Cissé (21 April 1940 – 19 February 2025) was a Malian film director, regarded as one of the first generation of African filmmakers. He was called "Africa's greatest living filmmaker" while his film Yeelen has been called "conceivably the greatest African film ever made." He was the first director from sub-Saharan Africa to receive an award, at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987, for “Yeelen”, he was awarded the Golden Coach in 2023. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Souleymane Cissé has received more than 55,425 page views. His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 18 in 2019). Souleymane Cissé is the 958th most popular film director (down from 886th in 2019), the 19th most popular biography from Mali (up from 22nd in 2019) and the most popular Malian Film Director.

Memorability Metrics

  • 55k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 55.77

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 19

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.03

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.19

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Souleymane Cissé ranks 958 out of 2,041. Before him are Matt Reeves, Justine Triet, Emeric Pressburger, Antonio Pietrangeli, Serge Bourguignon, and Alexander Mackendrick. After him are Andre DeToth, Shane Black, Spike Jonze, Helmut Käutner, David Miller, and John Flynn.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1940, Souleymane Cissé ranks 336. Before him are Larry Brown, Mame Madior Boye, Wolf Kahler, Norman Spinrad, Claude Dagens, and Vladimir Korenev. After him are Graham Allison, Władysław Komar, John Lewis, Antonella Ragno-Lonzi, Carole Pateman, and Yambo Ouologuem. Among people deceased in 2025, Souleymane Cissé ranks 35. Before him are Fabio Cudicini, Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat, Frankétienne, Eleonora Giorgi, Jeannot Szwarc, and James Harrison. After him are Mimis Domazos, Hans van den Broek, Georgios Roubanis, Lima, Garth Hudson, and Ján Zachara.

Others Born in 1940

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Others Deceased in 2025

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In Mali

Among people born in Mali, Souleymane Cissé ranks 19 out of 72. Before him are Sonni Ali (1464), Dioncounda Traoré (1942), Jean Zerbo (1943), Amadou Hampâté Bâ (1900), Seydou Keita (1980), and Boubacar Traoré (1942). After him are Yambo Ouologuem (1940), Modibo Keita (1942), Moctar Ouane (1955), Assimi Goïta (1983), Mahamadou Diarra (1981), and Choguel Kokalla Maïga (1958).

Others born in Mali

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In Mali

Among film directors born in Mali, Souleymane Cissé ranks 1. 

Malian born Film Directors

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