Mati Diop

Mati Diop (born 22 June 1982) is a French/Senegalese filmmaker and actress who starred in the 2008 film 35 Shots of Rum. She also directed the 2019 film Atlantics, for which she became the first black female director to be in contention for the Cannes Film Festival's highest prize, the Palme d'Or.[1][2] At Cannes, Atlantics won the Grand Prix.[3] She also won awards for her short film, Mille Soleils (2013) and Snow Canon (2011).

For the Senegalese footballer, see Maty Diop.
Mati Diop
Diop during the FCAT (2013)
Born (1982-06-22) 22 June 1982
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Occupation
  • Filmmaker
  • actress
Years active2004–present
Parent(s)Wasis Diop
Christine Brossard
RelativesDjibril Diop Mambéty (uncle)

Early life

Diop was born in Paris, France, and is a member of the prominent Senegalese Diop family. Her father, Wasis Diop, is musician and her mother, Christine Brossard, is an art buyer and photographer. She is the niece of prominent Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambéty. During her childhood she often traveled back and forth between France and Senegal, devolving a transnational identity.[4]

Education

Mati Diop trained in the Advanced Degree Program at Le Fresnoy National Studio of Contemporary Art in France,[5] as well as at The Palais de Tokyo in their experimental artist studio space Le Pavillon.[6]

Diop studied at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study from 2014 to 2015.[6] While a part of the institute's selective Film Study Center Fellowship Program, she wrote the script for her first feature film Fire, Next Time.[6] She later changed the title of this film to what is now known as her directorial feature film debut, Atlantics (2019).[7]

Career

Directing

Mati Diop made her directorial debut in 2004 with her short film Last Night (2004).[8] Her short film Atlantiques (2009) won the Rotterdam International Film Festival's Tiger Award for Short Film, and a Top Prize at Media City Film Festival during her first North American appearance in 2009.

Her documentary short Mille Soleils[9] was released in 2013. The film focused on actor Magaye Niang, who was the star of Diop's uncle's seminal feature Touki Bouki (1973) and explained how he had come to live as a farmer in the intervening years.[10] The film played at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and was later also programmed at the Museum of Modern Art in 2014.[11]

In 2019, she became the first black female director to have her film premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival when her feature debut Atlantics was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or.[7] She was one of only four women accepted into the festival in the given year.[1] The film was a fictional adaptation of her documentary short Atlantiques made in 2009 that followed two friends from Senegal as they made a life-threatening boat crossing to Europe.[12] The film won the Grand Prix. It was picked up by Netflix shortly following Cannes' award announcements.[13]

Diop directed a documentary, In My Room, as part of Miu Miu's Women's Tales series, which blended audio recordings of her maternal grandmother, Maji, with footage Diop shot of herself in her Parisian apartment during the time she was quarantined during the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic.

Mati Diop's work has also been featured at the Venice Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival in 2012, and the Valdivia International Film Festival,[6] as well as the Museum of the Moving Image in 2013.[11]

Acting

Diop made her acting debut in Claire Denis' film 35 Shots of Rum (2008), playing the lead role of a young woman in a close-knit relationship with her father, whom she has trouble leaving as she gets ready for marriage. She received a nomination for the Lumières Award for most promising actress for her role in the film.[11] In 2012, she appeared in the film Simon Killer and was also credited with the story behind the script.[14] Diop continues to act sporadically in films and television.[15]

Artistry and Themes

In their article on Diop's work up to Atlantics (2019), Lindsay Turner states that Diop's work is often concerned with trans-nationalism, immigration, the female experience, and post-colonialism in relation with North Africa and Europe.[16] Additionally, Diop is known to use aspects of magical realism in her films, examples including Atlantics (2019), Snow Cannon (2011), and Big in Vietnam (2012).[17] Diop can also be quoted talking about her storytelling processes, notably on how she uses sets and props to convey her plots as opposed to just characters and dialogue.[16] During additional interviews, Diop has mentioned that she has done a majority of her own cinematography and is deeply interested in multiculturalism and multilingualism in film, as her films are often in two to three different languages.[16]

Filmography

(As Actress)

  • 35 Shots of Rum (2008)
  • Yoshido (Les autres vies) (2010)[18]
  • A History of Mutual Respect (2010) short[19]
  • La collection (2011) TV series[20]
  • Sleepwalkers (2011) TV movie[21]
  • Another World (2011) TV movie[22]
  • Simon Killer (2012)
  • For Buchanan: Hiver (2012) short[23]
  • The Unity of All Things (2013)[24]
  • L for Leisure (2014)[25]
  • Fort Buchanan (2014)[26]
  • Hermia & Helena (2016)[27]
  • Fire (2021)

(As Cinematographer)

  • Atlantiques (2009) documentary short[28]
  • Sleepwalkers (2011) TV movie[29]
  • Big in Vietnam (2012) short[30]
  • Mille Soleils (2013) documentary short[9]
  • Liberian Boy (2015) short[31]

(As Director)

  • Last Night (2004) short[8]
  • Île artificielle - Expédition (2006) short[32]
  • Atlantiques (2009) documentary short[28]
  • Snow Canon (2011) short[33]
  • Big in Vietnam (2012) short[30]
  • Mille Soleils (2013) documentary short[9]
  • Les 18 du 57, Boulevard de Strasbourg (2014) short (co-director)[34]
  • Liberian Boy (2015) short (co-directed with Manon Lutanie)[31]
  • Olympus (2017)[35]
  • Atlantiques (2019)[15][36][37]
  • 30 (+) films pour la 30ème (Documentary) (segment "Untitled")[38]
  • In My Room (2020) documentary short

(As Writer)

(As costume designer)

(As editor)

  • 30 (+) films pour la 30ème (Documentary) (segment "Untitled")[38]

(As producer)

  • 30 (+) films pour la 30ème (Documentary) (segment "Untitled")[38]

Accolades[40]
Awards and Nominations
Year Festival Awards Film Result
2010 Cinèma du Rèel Louis Marcorelles Award - Mention Atlantiques Winner
2011 Venice Film Festival Queer Lion Snow Cannon Nominee
2010

2012

 Rotterdam International Film Festival Tiger Award for Short Film

Tiger Award for Short Film

 Big in Vietnam

Atlantiques

 Winner

Winner

2013 Amiens International Film Festival Prix du Moyen mètrage Mille Solelies Winnner
2013 CPH:DOX New Vision Award Mille Soleiles Nominee
2013 Montréal Festival of New Cinema Loup Argenté Mille Solelies Winner
2014 Black Movie Film Festival Critics Prize Mille Solelies Winner
2014 IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival Short Film Grand Prize Mille Solelies Winner
2019 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards BSFC Award: Best New Filmmaker Atlantics Nominee
2019 Camerimage Best Directorial Debut Atlantics Nominee
2019 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize of the Jury.

Palme d'Or

Golden Camera

 Atlantics Winner

Nominee

Nominee

2019 Carthage Film Festival Tanit d'Argent

Tanit d'Or

 Ataltnics Winner

Nominee

2019 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Milos Stehlik Award: Most Promising Filmmaker Atlantics Nominee
2019 Denver International Film Festival Krzysztof Kieslowski Award: Best Feature Film Atlantics Nominee
2019 European Film Awards European Film Award: European Discovery Atlantics Nominee
2019 Ghent International Film Festival Grand Prix: Best Film Atlantics Nominee
2019 Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards GWNYFCA Award: Breakthrough Director Atlantics Nominee
2019 Hamptons International Film Festival Golden Starfish Award: Narrative Feature Atlantics Nominee
2019 Indiewire Critics' Poll IPC Award: Best First Feature Atlantics Winner
2019 Key West Film Festival Critics' Choice Award Atlantics Winner
2019 London Film Festival Sutherland Award: First Feature Competition Atlantics Winner
2019 Mumbai Film Festival International Competition: Golden Gateway Award Atlantics Nominee
2019 Odyssey Awards Odyssey Award: Breakthrough Director Atlantics Nominee
2019 Pingyao International Film Festival People's Choice Award: Best of Fest - Best Film Atlantics Nominee
2019 Prix Louis Delluc Prix Louis Delluc: Best First Film Atlantics Nominee
2019 San Sebastián International Film Festival Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize Atlantics Nominee
2019 Stockholm Film Festival Impact Award Atlantics Nominee
2019 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards TFCA Award: Best First Feature Atlantics Nominee
2019 Women Film Critics Circle Awards WFCC Award: Best Woman Storyteller Atlantics Nominee
2020 Austin Film Critics Assosiation AFCA Award: Best First Film Atlantics Nominee
2020 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Director, Motion Picture.

Outstanding Emerging Director.

Outstanding First Screenplay.

Atlantics Nominee
2020 Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US Heterodox Award Atlantics Nominee
2020 Cèsar Awards, France Cèsar: Best First Film Atlantics Nominee
2020 Directors Guild of America, USA DGA Award: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film Atlantics Nominee
2020 Faro Island Film Festival Golden Carp Film Award - International: Best New Director Atlantics Nominee
2020 Gold Derby Awards Gold Derby Award: Foreign Language Film Atlantics Nominee
2020 Image Awards (NAACP) Image Award: Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Film) Atlantics Nominee
2020 International Cinephile Society Awards ICS Award: Best Debut Feature Atlantics Nominee
2020 Lumiere Awards, France Lumiere Award: Best First Film Atlantics Nominee
2020 Online Film and Television Association OFTA Film Award: Best Feature Debut Atlantics Nominee
2020 Online Film Critics Society Awards OFCS Award: Best Debut Atlantics Nominee
2020 Palm Springs International Film Festival Directors to Watch

FIPRESCI Prize

 Atlantics Winner

Nominee

References
  1. "Meet the First Black Female Director in the Cannes Competition". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  2. Page, Thomas (2019-05-21). "Cannes 2019: 'Atlantics' director Mati Diop is the first black female contender for the Palme d'Or". CNN Style. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  3. Turan, Kenneth. "Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' and Mati Diop's 'Atlantics' make history at Cannes Film Festival". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  4. Mati Diop director of ATLANTICS in conversation with Reclaim the Frame, retrieved 2021-12-06
  5. "Festival Scope". pro.festivalscope.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  6. "Mati Diop". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  7. Obenson, Tambay. "Meet the First Black Woman in the Cannes Competition Lineup: Mati Diop". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  8. "Mati Diop | IFFR". iffr.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  9. Diop, Mati (2014-04-02), Mille soleils (Documentary), Anna Sanders Films, retrieved 2021-12-05
  10. Scott, A. O. "Stuck, but Trying to Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  11. "Mati Diop". YBCA. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  12. Picard, Andréa. "Film/Art : In the Realm of the Senses: Mati Diop on Mille soleils". Cinema Scope. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  13. Obenson, Tambay (2019-05-25). "'Atlantics': Netflix's Aggressive Africa Push Continues With Acquisition of Cannes Grand Prix Winner". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  14. Lavallée, Eric. "Interview: Mati Diop (Simon Killer)". ioncinema.com. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  15. "Mati Diop". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  16. Aguilar, Carlos. "A Language Possessed and Reconquered: Mati Diop on Atlantics | Interviews | Roger Ebert". https://www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2021-12-06. External link in |website= (help)
  17. "CruzID Gold Login - Stale Request". login.ucsc.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  18. Betbeder, Sébastien (2010-04-22), Yoshido (Les autres vies) (Drama), Les Films du Worso, Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), France Télévisions, retrieved 2021-12-05
  19. Abrantes, Gabriel; Schmidt, Daniel (2010-04-22), A History of Mutual Respect (Short, Drama), A Mutual Respect, Periferia Filmes, A Mutual Respect Productions, retrieved 2021-12-05
  20. Deluc, Edouard (2011-05-17), Bye Bye, La collection - Écrire pour... 5 fois Nathalie Baye, retrieved 2021-12-05
  21. Peretti, Thierry de (2011-08-03), Sleepwalkers (Drama), Why Not Productions, retrieved 2021-12-05
  22. Aghion, Gabriel (2013-10-12), Un autre monde (Drama), Mareterraniu Productions, France Télévisions, TV5 Monde, retrieved 2021-12-05
  23. Crotty, Benjamin (2012-08-07), Fort Buchanan: Hiver (Short), Les Films du Bal, retrieved 2021-12-05
  24. "The Unity of All Things – Cast & Crew on MUBI". mubi.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  25. Horn, Whitney; Kalman, Lev (2015-03-20), L for Leisure (Comedy), Special Affects Films, retrieved 2021-12-05
  26. Crotty, Benjamin (2015-06-03), Fort Buchanan (Comedy, Drama, Romance), Les Films du Bal, Godolphin Films, My New Picture, retrieved 2021-12-05
  27. Piñeiro, Matías (2017-08-03), Hermia & Helena (Comedy, Drama), Trapecio Cine, Ravenser Odd, Cinema Conservancy, retrieved 2021-12-05
  28. Diop, Mati (2011-04-01), Atlantiques (Documentary, Short), Anna Sanders Films, Le Fresnoy Studio National des Arts Contemporains, retrieved 2021-12-05
  29. Peretti, Thierry de (2011-08-03), Sleepwalkers (Drama), Why Not Productions, retrieved 2021-12-05
  30. Diop, Mati (2015-02-07), Big in Vietnam (Short, Drama), Neon Productions, retrieved 2021-12-05
  31. Diop, Mati; Lutanie, Manon, Liberian Boy (Short), Festival du nouveau cinéma - Montréal, Irène Productions, Neon Productions, retrieved 2021-12-05
  32. Île artificielle-expédition, retrieved 2021-12-05
  33. Diop, Mati (2015-02-07), Snow Canon (Short, Romance), Aurora Films, retrieved 2021-12-05
  34. Sans-Papiers, Collectif des Cinéastes Pour les; Abelanski, Lionel; Achache, Mona (2014-10-21), Les 18 du 57, Boulevard de Strasbourg (Short), Collectif des Cinéastes pour les Sans-papiers, retrieved 2021-12-05
  35. Olympus, retrieved 2021-12-05
  36. Kohn, Eric (2019-05-16). "'Atlantics' Review: Mati Diop's Dazzling Ghost Story About the Refugee Crisis — Cannes". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  37. Keslassy, Elsa (2019-05-15). "Cannes: Mati Diop's 'Atlantics' Unveils Clip Ahead of Competition". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  38. Adigozel, Elvin; Aubouy, Véronique; Bodet, Pascale (2019-06-11), 30 (+) films pour la 30ème (Documentary), FID Lab Marseille, retrieved 2021-12-05
  39. Peretti, Thierry de (2013-08-14), Les Apaches (Drama), Ferris & Brockman, Stanley White, Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), retrieved 2021-12-05
  40. "Mati Diop". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
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