Ali Kamanda
Ali Biko Sulaiman Kamanda, is a Sierra Leonean filmmaker, writer, producer, and social entrepreneur. He is best known for directing the award-winning films such as Salay and Kombra.[1][2]
Ali Kamanda | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ali Biko Sulaiman Kamanda |
| Nationality | Sierra Leonean |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill New York Film Academy |
| Occupation | Director, Writer, Producer, Social entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Kamanda (m. 2015) |
| Children | 2 |
Personal life
He was born and grew up in village Serabu in Njala, Sierra Leone. However, he moved to USA with his family during the civil war when Kamanda was just 13 years old.[3] He has one older sister.[4]
He is married to Julia since 2015 and the couple has two children: Cienna and Sekani.[3][4]
Career
Within USA, he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2000. After After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and studied screenwriting at the New York Film Academy in Burbank. In the meantime, he directed his maiden short film, BLVD, along with an award winning cinematographer, Cira Bola.[4] After 10 years, he returned his home country Sierra Leone in 2011. After the guidance of his mentor David Sontag, he started to produce films about the rural life of Sierra Leonean people.[5] With that ambition, he moved to Los Angeles to study screenwriting at the New York Film Academy. After that, he founded the filmmaking company, "Biko Studios".[3]
In 2011, Kamanda produced and directed the short film Salay. The all major technical aspects of the film was done by Kamanda himself, including, script, editing, cinematography. The film received critics acclaim and screened in many film festivals. In 2012, the won the award for the Best African Film at the San Francisco Black Film Festival.[6][7] In the same year, the film won the Award of Excellence for Social Justice from the international Best Shorts Competition.[3] With that, the film also became the first Sierra Leonean award winning narrative feature film.[4] In 2013, he won the Hi Award for the Best Short at the Harlem International Film Festival.
Apart from directing films and documentaries, Kamanda has produced several commentaries for the Al Jazeera network and Current Media.[3] In 2015, he joined with Harwell Family Foundation to made contributions to Sierra Leonean cinema.[8]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Genre | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | B L V D | Director, Writer, Producer | Short film | |
| 2011 | Salay | Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer, Location manager | Short film | |
| 2011 | Fambul Tok | Film translator | Documentary | |
| 2012 | Karmic Komplexities | Director, Producer, Editor, Digital effects, Sound editor | Short film | |
| 2013 | Kombra | Director, Writer, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer | Short film | |
| 2017 | Once Upon a Hustle | Director, Writer, Producer, Editor | Film |
References
- "Ali Biko Kamanda". Filmweb (in Polish). Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "The Kamanda Family – Julia – Heartbeats of Salone". Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "About BIKO". biko studios. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "The Kamanda Family – Heartbeats of Salone". Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "Raising orphans among crises in Sierra Leone". Eastern PA Conference of the United Methodist Church. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "ali kamanda". biko studios. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "Événements | Africultures : San Francisco Black Film Festival - SFBFF 2012". Africultures (in French). Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- "The Kamanda Family – Ali – Heartbeats of Salone". Retrieved 9 October 2021.
External links
- Ali Kamanda at IMDb