Aïssa Maïga

Aïssa Maïga

Birth : 1975-05-25, Dakar, Sénégal

History

Aïssa Maïga is a Senegal-born French actress, director, writer, producer, and activist. Maïga has worked with major auteurs like Michael Haneke, Abderrahmane Sissako and Michel Gondry, and recently starred in Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut.

Profile

Aïssa Maïga

Movies

Quand tu seras grand
Aude
Yannick is a caregiver in a retirement home. Between permanent pressure and budget restrictions, he faces the lack of means with a contagious good mood. But when he is forced to share the dining room with a class of children, the situation becomes complicated. Their arrival, as well as that of his hostess, Aude, will shake up the daily life of everyone, especially the residents.
Le Marchand de Sable
Félicité
Marked by years of prison, Djo, a parcel delivery man in the Paris suburbs, lives modestly with his mother and daughter. One day, an aunt who has just fled the Ivorian conflict arrives at their home with her three children. In a hurry, Djo manages to find them a place to live. But faced with the growing demand and with the prospect of offering a decent life to his daughter, Djo switches and becomes a sleep merchant.
Neneh Superstar
Martine
Born to dance, Neneh is a 12-year-old black girl who dreams of entering the Paris Opera Ballet School. Despite her enthusiasm, she will have to redouble her efforts to escape from her condition and be accepted by the director of the school, Marianne Bellage, the guarantor of traditions and the bearer of a secret that links her to the little ballerina.
The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess
(voice)
Three tales, three ages, three worlds. At the time of Ancient Egypt, a young king becomes the first black pharaoh to deserve the hand of his loved one. During the French Middle Ages, a mysterious wild boy steals from the rich to give to the poor. In 18th-century Turkey, a prince of pastries and a princess of roses escape the palace to live their love.
Maria Schneider, 1983
Maria Schneider
In 1983, French actress Maria Schneider gives an interview for the TV show Cinéma Cinémas. The conversation takes an unexpected turn when she challenges film industry practices and is asked to talk about the controversial film Last Tango in Paris (1972).
Nô Feminist
Screenplay
Nô Feminist
Director
Above Water
Writer
12-years-old Houlaye lives in Niger, and travels several kilometers each day to fetch water. The village got together to construct a well. This is the promise of a new life for people who have literally been walking on water since birth.
Above Water
Director
12-years-old Houlaye lives in Niger, and travels several kilometers each day to fetch water. The village got together to construct a well. This is the promise of a new life for people who have literally been walking on water since birth.
Regard Noir
Director
Pop féminisme : des militantes aux icônes pop
Narrator
An overview of 21st-century feminism through the lens of pop culture.
Neuf meufs, L'unitaire
Au-dessus des nuages
Marion
Où sont les noirs ?
Aïssa Maïga
French actors Lucien Jean-Baptiste, Aïssa Maïga, Sonia Rolland, Deborah Lukumuena, Marie-France Malonga, Gary Dourdan and others speak up on the reality of black actors in the French movie industry.
Pygmalionnes
Herself - Actrice
Brother
Claude
Because he wanted to protect his little brother, Teddy, a young man without a history, is accused of the murder of his father and sent to a closed educational center, waiting for his trial for parricide. He then plunges into a brutal universe of which he does not know the rules.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Agnes Kamkwamba
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
The Tower
Tante Hannan (voice)
Eleven-year-old Wardi’s great-grandfather leaves behind a will suggesting looking to the past to find the future. Searching the house, Wardi finds out about her Palestinian homeland from family memories.
Corniche Kennedy
Awa
Corniche Kennedy. In the blue of the Mediterranean, at the foot of luxurious villas, the young kids of Marseille defy the laws of gravity. Marco, Mehdi, Franck, Mélissa, Hamza, Mamaa, Julie : girls and boys dive, take flight, take risks to experience life to the fullest. Suzanne devours them with her eyes from inside her chic villa. Their free bodies, their excess. She wants to be part of them. She will be part of them.
He Even Has Your Eyes
Salimata 'Sali' Aloka
Paul is married to Sali. Everything would be fine if they could get a child. Until the day when Sali receives the call that they have been waiting for so long: their adoption file is approved. He is adorable, he is 6 months old, his name is Benjamin. He is blond with blue eyes and white. They - are black.
Love Is Dead
Léane Marciano, conseillère conjugale
The African Doctor
Anne Zantoko
1975. When Seyolo Zantoko, a doctor from the Congo who has managed, along with his family, to flee tyranny, is hired by the mayor of a small town in northern France, he begins a struggle to adapt to a new life and gain the trust of the prejudiced villagers.
The Eiffel Tower Mystery
Henriette
The daughter of one of the architects who built the Eiffel Tower gets framed for a murder that has taken place there, so she and her girlfriend embark on a quest across Paris to solve the mystery.
Anything for Alice
Alice
Slacker Max fell so hard for single mother Alice in college that he developed a website aimed at winning her heart. Years later, after his venture has earned him millions of dollars, Max risks his entire fortune performing an ever more complicated series of social contortions to get close to Alice, now a politically motivated factory worker.
Aya of Yop City
Aya
While Aya has dreams of becoming a doctor, her two best friends, Adjoua and Bintou, just like to hang out and spend their evenings dancing, drinking and flirting with boys. Their ambition is to follow Plan C: Combs, Clothes and Chasing Men! But big trouble comes to town when Adjoua realizes she’s pregnant, and the baby’s father is the spoiled son of one of the richest and most feared men in the whole country.
Mortel Été
Julie
Mood Indigo
Alise
A woman suffers from an unusual illness caused by a flower growing in her lungs.
HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami
Clarisse Iris
When reporter Dan Geraldo (Alain Chabat) arrives in Palombia to hunt for a scoop, he never suspects that he is about to make an incredible discovery... With his resourceful local guide Pablito (Jamel Debbouze), D an has one surprise after another during a thrilling adventure that allows him to bring the world some spectacular news: the Marsupilami, a mythical and mischievous animal, really does exist! You too will believe in furry tails!
Toussaint Louverture
Suzanne
Toussaint opposes the Spanish army and joins the French troops. On Saint-Domingue he succeeds to push the English back. He proclames himself as the gouvernor of Saint-Domingue. To restore the economy he takes a bold descision. He calls for the workers to return to the plantages...
Today
Nella
Satché is about to die. He decides to make his last day on this world the day of his life.
One Man's Show
On the eve of his fiftieth birthday, an actor discovers that he's got stomach cancer. He must now face his shattered life.
Pas de toit sans moi
Ashanti
The Counsel
Eve
A new lawyer, looking to establish himself, wins a difficult case and deals with the unforeseen consequences that may destroy him.
Le temps de la kermesse est terminé
Martina
Ensemble c'est trop
Clémentine
Imagine, if you will, a somewhat contented married woman finding out her husband's infidelity during the celebration of a birthday party. That is what happens to Marie-France, when her husband, Henri, pulls out panties from his pocket to be used as a handkerchief. Marie-France becomes furious, storming out of the house. His son, Sebastian and his wife, Clementine, a struggling couple, decide to take Marie-France to their tiny apartment, something they feel it is a temporary arrangement. Little did they know what they were getting into...
Diamond 13
Farida
A cop goes up against his lifelong friend, who has become one of the city's biggest drug traffickers.
Quand la ville mord
Sex, Okra & Salted Butter
Amina
An extramarital affair leads to Hortense’s separation from her very traditional African husband, who is in for a ride as he learns about her love affair, his eldest son’s secret love life, and the responsibilities of single parenthood.
Crossfire
A grizzled Parisian detective is sent to an outpost town in Southern France to dismantle a gang of killers which has freed a notorious criminal. The detective inherits a team of unmotivated and dishevelled detectives, and he makes connections nobody else ever saw because nobody else bothered to look. A mysterious, charismatic figure, he leads by example, and gradually his team begins to feel like cops again.
Black and White
Nadine
Racial integration is Elena's profession and passion, not only filling her working day as a cultural mediator assisting immigrants, but spilling over into her home life as well. All too often her husband Carlo must attend charity events where he feels distinctly out of place. During one of these evenings, Carlo meets Nadine, a beautiful black woman.
The Age of Man
Tina
Samuel is 30. Formerly a confirmed bachelor, he has been living with Tina – a photographer – for the past year but he gets scared when it’s time to commit. So he gives himself 24 hours to decide whether or not to break up with the woman he loves, convinced she will leave him sooner or later. By his side, Samuel can count on Jorge and Mounir, his usual confidants.
I Do
Life is easy for 43-year-old Luis, a happy single guy, fulfilled in his job of star nose with a perfume creation company, cosseted by his mother and five sisters. It could have lasted for a whole life, but fed up with mollycoddling and helping him, his mother and sisters decide it's time he got married, and the sooner the better!
Une famille parfaite
Martha
Martha is 30 years old in 2031. She spent a happy childhood in a family not quite like the others since she was adopted by two men. Now, one of them is dead and the other is losing his memory
Don't Worry, I'm Fine
Léa
A 19-year-old searches for her twin brother after he runs away from home, following a fight with their father.
Bamako
Melé
Caught in the stranglehold of debt and structural adjustment, Africa is fighting for its survival. In the face of disaster, representatives of African society bring an action against international financial institutions. The trial takes place in Bamako, in the yard of a house, among its inhabitants.
Paris Je T'aime
Sophie (Place des Fêtes)
Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to chose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.
Caché
Chantal
A married couple is terrorized by a series of videotapes planted on their front porch.
Russian Dolls
Kassia
Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite.
One Stays, the Other Leaves
Farida
A story about two couples, longtime friends in which both husbands engage in long-term affairs and, as the title says, ultimately one remains with his wife and one makes a new life with another woman.
Par accident
Constance
Isabelle Blanc, a 30 years old biologist who works at the university, awakes in an hospital and doesn't remember why she is in the hospital.Little by little the doctor explains her that she had an accident driving by night under the rain and that accident provoked the death of a person.After her work Isabelle met her companion Vincent and then went alone by car: Vincent called her by cell phone, they spoke about their future and Vincent wanted that Isabelle listens to to a song; then came the crash.After going with Vincent to the place of the accident (where she saw a bouquet of flowers for the dead person) Isabelle reads in the newspaper the death notice of Marie Delhomme.
My Children Are Different
Myriam
A classical musician demands that his beautiful daughter and his young son follow in his footsteps despite their personal wishes.
Don't Worry, Be Happy
Anna
With his vitriolic pen, Désiré Loncle, does not make the life of filmmakers easy. But chickens come home to roost, don't they? As a matter of fact, Désiré gets his due punishment when Manu, his girlfriend, kicks him out of home. At a loss, he finds refuge with Alex, a young actor. He is soon joined by Eduardo, an Italian producer, dumped like him by his wife. While Désiré tries to rebuild himself, the three men decide to write a film script that will be the basis of a vehicle for Alex.
The Bathers
Rita's sister
Sexy, gritty and as provocative as a lap dance, The Bathers takes an insider's look at the lives of six women working as dancers at a seedy Parisian peep show. Governed by their overprotective boss, the girls' routine of glittery neon lights and lecherous customers is soon disrupted when an enigmatic stranger enters the scene. Now, drugs, sex and bickering all take a back seat as the girls unite to save this man haunted by a mysterious past and unforgiving demons. A fascinating glimpse into a world of back alleys and primal instincts, The Bathers transports us to a netherworld where the show always goes on.
Journey to Ouaga
Loutaya
Lionel, a young Frenchman, who has just arrived in Cotonou, Benin, loses his car, airplane ticket and passport and his hopes in riots in the city.
Marie-Line
Malika
A woman learns to care for others when she's forced to help people on the wrong side of the law in this drama. Marie-Line (Muriel Robin) is a single woman in her mid-forties who oversees the cleaning crew at a large office building. On the job, Marie-Line is all business, with no patience for laziness and no tolerance for employees who do less than a perfect job. But Marie-Line's bosses are in the midst of a money crunch and they've cut back on her budget, so when several of her employees quit, she has to find new cleaners willing to work for a lower wage. Marie-Line soon finds new workers willing to work hard for low pay, but there's a catch -- most of them are illegal aliens, smuggled into France from Africa, Albania, or the Middle East, and when police begin asking questions about Marie-Line's new cleaners, she has to scramble to cover for them.
Lise and Andre
Esther
Lise is a Parisian prostitute who has a young son, Sebastien. Lise dotes on her boy, who has a gift for music and sings in a children's choir directed by aging parish priest Father Andre. Sebastien becomes involved in an auto accident that sends him into a coma; after he remains unconscious for three months, Lise begins to panic, desperate for a remedy that medical science can't provide. When she is told of a field in a village in rural France where a miracle is said to have occurred some years before -- an apparition of the Virgin Mary arrived to provide food for a group of starving children -- Lise wants to travel to the site of the miracle to pray for her son. She also insists that Father Andre come along, but the priest is not eager to go, due to his age, his health, and his increasing cynicism about religion. Lise is persistent, however, and before long the two are on the road in search of a much-needed miracle.
Code Unknown
Black Girl with Blonde Hair
A series of events unfold like a chain reaction, all stemming from a minor event that brings the film's five characters together. Set in Paris, France, Anne is an actress whose boyfriend Georges photographs the war in Kosovo. Georges' brother, Jean, is looking for the entry code to Georges' apartment. These characters' lives interconnect with a Romanian immigrant and a deaf teacher.
Jonas and Lila, Til Tomorrow
Lila
It’s December 1999, and 25-year-old Jonah has just graduated from film school. As the new millennium begins, Jonah marries his longtime sweetheart Lila. Over the course of six months, the couple meet a number of interesting people, including Irina, an exiled Russian actress, as well as spending their time with Jonah’s sister Cecile and his filmmaking mentor Anziano. The discussions Jonah has with these friends and strangers help him to gain some perspective on his life and the new millennium.
Lucy's Revenge
Lucy
After Polish-born writer-director Janusz Mrozowski, a French resident for the past 30 years, made a series of 30-minute films based on African writings, he was approached by Africans to do a cinematic survey of past events in African history. Filming in Burkina Faso, Mrozowski responded with this comedy about a dictator kidnapped from the present-day and taken back through the mists of time. There he meets the mother of humanity, Lucy, who teaches him the basics of sexual equality. By the time he returns to the present, he's also received an education in 16th-century slave-trading and European influences on Africa.
Les Saigneurs