Joseph Gaï Ramaka (Jo(e) Gaï Ramaka/Joseph Gaye Ramaka, born 9 November 1952 in Saint Louis, Senegal) is a Senegalese film director, screen writer and film producer.[1][2][3][4][5]
Joseph Gaï Ramaka | |
|---|---|
 Joseph Gaï Ramaka, 2010 | |
| Born | 9 November 1952 |
| Nationality | Senegalese |
| Occupation(s) | film director, screen writer, film producer |
| Known for | Ainsi soit-il ! (1997), Karmen Geï (2001), Et si Latif avait raison ! (2006) |
Biography
editGaï Ramaka studied visual anthropology at the Paris School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and film studies at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies, IDHEC) of Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis.[3] In 1990 he founded the French production and distribution company Les Ateliers de l’Arche. In 1999, the company established its Espace Bell’Arte branch in Dakar, Senegal, a screening facility with Dolby Stereo. The company's presence expanded with Arche Studios, a 15,000 square meter studio, and the first in West and Central Africa to have computerized lighting.[1][2]
His feature-length films include Nitt... N'Doxx /Les Faiseurs de pluie, an adaptation of a story by Prosper Merimée,[6] Karmen Geï (2000), an African version of the opera Carmen,[7] and Et si Latif avait raison (And what if Latif were right!, 2006), a political documentary.
In 2007 he founded the New Orleans Afrikan Film and Arts Festival Project (NOAFEST) and in 2013, he created Gorée Island Cinema, a platform for collaborative cinematography, which has hosted the Gorée Cinema Festival since 2015.
Gaï Ramaka currently lives in New Orleans.[8]
Filmography
editGaï Ramaka's films include:[2][3]
| Year | Film | Genre | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Baaw-Naan / Rites de pluie | Short, documentary | Screen writer, director | 25 min (m) |
| 1986 | La Musique lyrique Peul | Short, documentary | Director | 10 m |
| 1986 | Portrait d’un mannequin | Short, documentary | Director | 10 m |
| 1988 | Niiwam by Clarence Thomas Delgado |
Feature | Producer | 88 m |
| 1989 | Nitt... N'Doxx / Les Faiseurs de pluie[9] | Documentary | Screen writer, director | 85 m |
| 1991 | Boxulmaleen !! (L'An fer) by William Ousmane Mbaye and Amet Diallo |
Feature | Producer | 30 m |
| 1996 | Idylle by Dominique Camara |
Short, drama | Coproducer | 14 m |
| 1997 | Ainsi soit-il ! (So Be It), episode of Africa Dreaming[10] | Fiction | Screen writer, codirector, coproducer | 33 m |
| 1997 | Baby Sister | Fiction pilot | Director | 12 m |
| 1998 | Demain je brûle / Ghoudwa Nahrek by Mohamed Ben Smaïl |
Drama | Producer | 95 m |
| 2001 | Karmen Geï[11] | Fiction, music | Screen writer, director | 85 or 90 m |
| 2006 | Et si Latif avait raison ! (And what if Latif were right!)[5] |
Documentary | Screen writer, director, producer | 95 m |
| 2007 | Jaxaay Plan![12] | Documentary | Screen writer, director | 26 m |
| 2009 | It's my man ![13] | Documentary | Director | 65 m |
| 2020 | Mbas mi (The plague by Albert Camus) | Short, drama | Director, producer | 8 m |
Awards
editGaï Ramaka won various awards, such as:
- Baaw-Naan/Rites de pluie (1985) - Masque d'Or for documentary at the Deuxième Festival International du Film sur le Carnaval et la Fête à Nice. Special mention by the jury at the Quatrième Festival International Jean Rouch/Bilan du Film Ethnographique[14] in Paris. First Prize for shorts of the Second Festival of Perugia, Italy.
- Ainsi-soit-il (1997) - Silver Lion Award, First Prize Corto-cortissimo, 54th Venice Film Festival 1997.[2] Best Film Prize, Festival Vues d'Afrique Montreal 1998.[1]
- Karmen Geï (2001) - Best Feature Award of the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF Los Angeles) 2006.[2]
Literature
edit- Adesokan, Akin (2019). "6. 'The Invisible Government of the Powerful'. Joseph Gaï Ramaka's Cinema of Power". In Harrow, Kenneth W.; Garritano, Carmela (eds.). A companion to African cinema. Wiley-Blackwell companions to national cinemas. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 136–154. ISBN 9781119100317.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Joseph Gaï Ramaka. Biography. Senegal". africanfilmny.org. African Film Festival New York. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Joseph Gaï Ramaka, Sénégal". africultures.com (in French). Africultures. Les mondes en relation. 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Joseph Gaye Ramaka Film director Producer Screenwriter". africine.org. Fédération africaine de la critique cinématographique (FACC). 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Joseph Gaï Ramaka at IMDb
- ^ a b "Et si Latif avait raison !". film-documentaire.fr (in French). Film Doc. Film.documentaire.fr. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Armes, Roy (2008). Dictionary of African Filmmakers. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-253-35116-6.
- ^ Green-Simms, Lindsey (2019). "Chapter 9 "Outcast Orders" and the Imagining of a Queer African Cinema. A Fugitive, Afro-Jazz Reading of Karmen Geï". In Harrow, Kenneth W.; Garritano, Carmela (eds.). A companion to African cinema. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 194–215. ISBN 9781119100317.
- ^ Martin, Michael T.; Gaï Ramaka, Joseph (2009). "I Am Not a Filmmaker Engagé. I Am an Ordinary Citizen Engagé". Research in African Literatures. 40 (3): 206–219. doi:10.2979/RAL.2009.40.3.206. JSTOR 40468145.
- ^ An adaptation of a story by Prosper Merimée
- ^ Based on a play The Strong Breed by Wolé Soyinka
- ^ Gaï Ramaka's adaptation of the opera Carmen by Georges Bizet
- ^ Krueger Enz, Molly (2016). "Ramaka Joseph Gaï , director. Plan Jaxaay! 2007. 25 minutes. Wolof with English and French subtitles. Senegal. Observatoire Audiovisuel sur les Libertés". African Studies Review. 59 (201609): 315. doi:10.1017/asr.2016.72. OCLC 8271751653.
- ^ "IT'S MY MAN !". seneplus.com (in French). Retrieved 24 August 2023.
Eileen Julien Sy raconte Kalidou Sy, l'ancien directeur de l'École nationale des Beaux Arts, décédé en 2005 – Un film-documentaire de Joseph Gaï Ramaka..
- ^ Rouch, Jean (1985). "Quatrième Bilan du Film Ethnographique - Palmarès" (pdf). comitedufilmethnographique.com (in French). Comité du Film Ethnographique, Musée de l'Homme, Paris. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
External links
editVideos:
- Karmen by Joseph Gaï Ramaka Extrait HD 4 mins 11 on YouTube. Video duration 4m 11s. Uploader Joseph Gaï Ramaka. 2012. Accessed on 24 August 2023.
- Conversation with Joseph Gaï Ramaka and LiON Ayodele, moderated by Eileen Julien on YouTube. Video duration 39m 23s. Uploader African Film Festival, Inc. 2021. Accessed on 24 August 2023.
Interview:
- "entretien d'Olivier Barlet avec Joseph Gaye Ramaka (Sénégal) Paris, 1997". africultures.com (in French). Africultures. Les mondes en relation. 2002. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
