Paulin Soumanou Vieyra

Who was Paulin Soumanou Vieyra?

Paulin Soumanou Vieyra was a Beninese/Senegalese film director and historian. As he lived in Senegal after age ten, he is more associated to that nation. In 1955 in Paris he shot the first Francophone African film, Afrique sur Seine. He did other important things for film in Africa, such as founding the "Fédération panafricaine des cinéastes" in 1969. In 1961 he married poet Myriam Warner of Guadeloupe. One of his sisters is Justine Vieyra, born in Parakou.

In 1971 he was a member of the jury at the 7th Moscow International Film Festival. Two years later, he was a member of the jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1985 he was a member of the jury at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.