Aïssa Maïga

Maïga landed a role alongside Yvan Attal in Denis Amart's Saraka Bô (1996), her acting was well received and she went on to play a rebellious young girl in Michael Haneke's Code Unknown (2000) and his later film Caché (2005). Her work in Cédric Klapisch's Russian Dolls (2005) cemented her role as a notable performer in French cinema.[7]

Maïga was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in Abderrahmane Sissako’s Malian drama Bamako (2006) and became the first French actress of African descent to ever receive a nomination, thereby becoming the most visible black actress working in France.[3][8] That same year, an anthology film called Paris, je t’aime (2006) was also premiered at Cannes and Maïga was the female lead in the short film directed by South African filmmaker Oliver Schmitz. Maïga was joined on the Cannes red carpet by Oliver Schmitz and producer Danny Glover.[4]

Bianco e nero (2008) starring Maïga and Favio Volo was the first successful and mainstream Italian film to tackle interracial romance.[9] In 2009, Maïga won Best Actress for Bianco e nero (2008) at the Festival du Cinema Italien de Bastia.[10]

Maïga starred alongside Audrey Tatou and Romain Duris in Michel Gondry's surreal and whimsical Mood Indigo (2014).[11] In 2016, Maïga starred in the Netflix film The African Doctor (2016) alongside Democratic Republic of the Congo actor Marc Zinga.[12]

In 2018, Maïga premiered in the Irish RTÉ crime series Taken Down (2018—present) written by Stuart Carolan and her role was received with critical acclaim.[7]

Maïga co-starred with Chiwetel Ejiofor in his joint film with Netflix set during the Malawian food crisis in the 2000s, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019). She was the lead female character—Agnes Kamkwamba—and the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was added to Netflix on March 1, 2019.[13]

Maïga has collaborated with fifteen other black actresses and French personalities to create the DiasporAct collective. The group consists of Maïga, Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Mata Gabin, Maïmouna Gueye, Eye Haïdara, Rachel Khan, Sara Martins, Marie-Philomène Nga, Sabine Pakora, Firmine Richard, Sonia Rolland, Magaajyia Silberfeld, Shirley Souagnon, Assa Sylla, Karidja Touré, and France Zobda.[16]

Before Maïga went to Malawi in 2017 to film Chiwetel Ejiofor’s adaptation of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019), Maïga wrote the essay that would become the book's forward. Once the filming was over, she dedicated herself to the book and contacted a group of performers to bring many perspectives to the project.[16]

“I’ve often asked myself why I’m one of the only black actresses to work in a country as racially mixed as France.”—Aïssa Maïga, Black is Not My Job[2]

The DiasporAct group published a book called Noire n’est pas mon métier (which means 'Black is not my job') (ed. Seuil).[17] The essays in this book featured a response to the lack of representation and inclusion that black actresses face in French cinema, as well as the stereotypical portrayal of black people whenever they are included. The book details the inequity and racism black women face in the French film industry and outlines personal stories and casting experiences specific to black actresses,[16][18] and came to fruition amid the #MeToo movement and the Cannes festival that had a wave of calls for inclusion.[3] The book was a success in France and has sparked debate about minority representation,[3] and with these newly opened doors the group has aimed to continue to spread the message to combat racism within the French film industry and media.[19]

Aïssa Maïga at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival

Maïga and the DiasporAct collective held a peaceful anti-racism protest as they went into the premiere of Lee Chang-dong's FIPRESCI Prize–winning film, Burning at the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival in 2018.[3] The group of women stood at the top of the red carpet steps at the festival and raised their fists while dancing joyously to the Rihanna song Diamonds to protest the racial bias and discrimination that is rampant within the French film industry.[20] During a press conference that featured the group, Maïga told Agence France-Presse that setting up a racial quota in the French film industry is a potential option for combating the lack of onscreen diversity, and acknowledged that this could spark strong opposition in France.[21] All members of the group wore matching black and white[15] ensembles created by Balmain's mixed-race designer Olivier Rousteing who told Vogue:

“I think we are really at a huge turning point in every industry, whether film, or fashion, or music. We are living in a world where we are trying to break from the past and define what we want from the future. I believe in the power of women, I have since I was a little boy, and this moment means a lot to me.”[21]

The clear message of the protest, combined with the recently released book to back it up, was met positively—the consequent media reports talked of their beauty, style and courage[15]—and the group hope that the industry will continue to evolve to be more inclusive.[19]

Maïga and 30 fellow actors of colour all spoke out against the lack of diversity among those nominated for a 2020 César award in an open letter entitled '#BlackCesars' that was published just before the awards ceremony. The intention of the open letter was to shed light on the absence of Black, Arab, and Asian performers and filmmakers in the nominations for the event.[22][23]

On the night of the 45th César awards, Maïga gave a speech calling out the lack of diversity in French cinema. The speech was unexpected and contrasted with the congratulatory speeches that had taken place throughout the evening, the predominantly white audience of the "French Oscars" were all frozen in silent surprise and discomfort. Maïga began her speech by greeting the 12 black people (out of the 1,600 guests) and proceeded to outline the ways in which black people and their stories are systemically ignored in French media, TV, and cinema.[15]

"We survived whitewashing, blackface, tonnes of dealer roles, housekeepers with a Bwana accent, we survived the roles of terrorists, all the roles of hypersexualised girls...but we are not going to leave French cinema alone."—Aïssa Maïga, 2020 César awards[15]

When Roman Polanski was awarded Best Director later in the ceremony, Maïga walked out along with Adèle Haenel to join the protestors outside the awards ceremony[14][23][24] who were chanting "Polanski is a rapist".[15]