Sira


Nafissatou Cissé
Sira by Apolline Traoré
BFA, FRA, DEU, SEN 2023, Panorama
© Les Films Selmon

Sira by Apolline Traoré
BFA, FRA, DEU, SEN 2023, Panorama
© Les Films Selmon

Nafissatou Cissé
Sira by Apolline Traoré
BFA, FRA, DEU, SEN 2023, Panorama
© Les Films Selmon

Sira by Apolline Traoré
BFA, FRA, DEU, SEN 2023, Panorama
Apolline Traoré’s film is set in the Sahel, a lawless war zone ruled by the men who have the most weapons, pick-up trucks and mobile phones. It tells the gripping story of a struggle for survival in which the female veil becomes an instrument of resistance, in a film that represents a feminist counterpoint to current reporting from the region.
With
- Nafissatou Cissé (Sira)
- Mike Danon (Moustapha)
- Lazare Minoungou (Yere)
- Nathalie Vairac (Aissatou)
- Ruth Werner (Kemi)
- Abdramane Barry (Jean Sidi)
- Ildevert Meda (Karim)
- Oumou Ba (Djamila)
- Seydou Diallo (Tidiane)
- Moïse Tiemtore (Faysal)
Crew
Director | Apolline Traoré |
Screenplay | Apolline Traoré |
Cinematography | Nicolas Berteyac |
Editing | Sylvie Gadmer |
Music | Cyril Morin |
Sound Design | Vianney Aubé |
Sound | Alioune Mbow |
Costumes | Sidi Ouedraogo |
Make-Up | Soussaba Kouyaté |
Assistant Director | Aimé Parfait Bationo |
Production Manager | Sie Ahmed Kambou |
Producers | Apolline Traoré, Denis Cougnaud |
Executive Producer | Sidi Mohamed Cheiguer |
Co-Producers | Souleymane Kebe, Sarika Hemi Lakhani, Laurent Sicouri |
Co-Production |
Sunuy Films Dakar One Fine Day Films Berlin Canal+ International Boulogne |
World Sales
Produced by
Les Films Selmon
Araucania Films

Film Team
At the premiere at Zoo Palast.
Sira · Panorama · Feb 21, 2023

Apolline Traoré
The director at the premiere.
Sira · Panorama · Feb 21, 2023

Nafissatou Cissé
The leading actor at the premiere.
Sira · Panorama · Feb 21, 2023

Sarika Hemi Lakhani
The co-producer of the winning film that received the Panorama Audience Award – Feature Film holding the trophy.
Sira · Panorama · Prizes of the Independent Juries · Feb 26, 2023
Director Apolline Traoré on her film
Sira
Panorama · Berlinale Meets | Interview · Feb 22, 2023
Apolline Traoré

The director from Burkina Faso studied at the Emerson College School of the Arts in Boston. Her graduation film The Price of Ignorance won the Jury Prize at the 2001 Fespaco Pan-African Film and Television Festival. Her short film Kounandi screened at the Sundance and Toronto film festivals in 2004. After working for several years in the independent film scene in Hollywood, in 2008 she decided to return to Burkino Faso where she has since made several feature films.
Filmography (selection)
2000 The Price of Ignorance; short film 2001 Burkinabé symbol; short film 2003 Kounandi; short film 2004 Under the Moonlight 2013 Me Zaphira 2017 Frontières 2019 Desrances 2021 Witba: A Woman Leader; documentary 2023 Sira
Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023