Talents
Salif Cisse
Twenty-seven year old Salif Cisse began his acting and screenwriting career while still in high school, where he discovered his passion for the stage. He attended local conservatories before being admitted to the prestigious Conservatoire Nationale Supérieure d'Art Dramatique de Paris (National Academy of Dramatic Arts) in 2017. During that time, he staged his first project, High Sign (Lewis John Carlino) at the Cartes Blanches Festival.
From there he went on to be cast in 2019 by Guillaume Brac in his film, All Hands on Deck. Salif starred in his own original mini-series, Couronnes, directed by Julien Carpentier and produced by Golden Network. He is one of the lead roles in the upcoming Netflix series, Endless Night directed by David Perrault, due out in 2022.
Sokhna Diallo
Sokhna Diallo is a French child actress of Senegalese descent. She has already garnered quite a few well-known awards at only 14 years old. She was by far the most promising French actress of her age group.
Sokhna played the lead role in Maimouna Doucoure's film, Mother(s), which won a French Cesar in 2017 for Best Short Film. The film went on to win similarly at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals. Sokhna is the youngest actress to have ever won Best Actress at Berlin FestShorts.
In addition, she won a Vienna Independent Shorts Film Festival Special Mention for Best Actress, the Mecal Barcelona International Shorts and Animation Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and a Congo Festicab Award.
In 2017, Sokhna was a part of the Ascension cast, her first feature film project, that went on to become a blockbuster hit in France. Sokhna currently lives in Paris.
Rachid Badouri
Rachid Badouri is a Canadian comedian.
Badouri was born to immigrants of Moroccan Berber origin. He studied at College Montmorency in Laval, Quebec where he had his first experience on stage. In 1999, he had a major appearance at Just for Laughs (Juste Pour Rire) festival in Montreal with a presentation about immigration. He also appeared in a number of comedic advertisements in Quebec media (television, radio, print media).
In October 2007, he launched his first one-man show entitled Arrête ton cinéma! .
Sèdo Tossou
Sèdo Tossou is a multi-disciplinary artist of Beninese descent who grew up in France. At the age of 19 he graduated from the university of Bordeaux with a computer science and electrical engineering degree. However, Sèdo didn’t feel like spending his life behind a computer, instead, he wanted to be seen on the big screen. In August 2015 he decides to audition for a movie and is chosen to portray the lead role of Denzel in “Et si on s’en sortait“ by Adom Rost, selected by the Cannes film festival. Pianist, model, dancer, athlete, he decides to fully dedicate himself to his acting career and find success in Hollywood: a lead role in « Upgrade Reality » directed by two-time Academy Award winner Janusz Kamiński, a recurring guest star role in the TV show « Dream life » and multiple commercial contracts. Based in L.A but still attached to his roots, he recently opened an acting school and his production company in Bénin called « Sèdo N’Nogni ».
Siaka S. Traoré
Siaka S. Traoré is a Cameroon-born Burkinabe award winning artist based primarily in Senegal and Canada. With a degree in civil engineering and a passion for photography, Siaka through his work, highlights his fascination with urban arts, focusing on the social impact and esthetic. He creates vignettes that combine body movement, esthetics and symbolism capturing the performers’ complex movements and translating their body language through the overall composition.
In 2014, Traoré, a self-taught photographer, exhibited his work for the first time at Africa’s most prominent art platform, the Dakar Biennale. The group show hosted by Attis Gallery featuring his “Sunustreet” series, was a huge success and heralded the start of his artistic career.
Traoré is the recipient of the Orange Award for digital artistry awarded at the 2016 AKAA (Also known as Africa) Contemporary African art fair in Paris for his work “Dans ...ce”. This piece of work is part of the “Sunustreet” series, which was on display at the Mam and Donwahi Gallery booth. The series concept is focused on Dakar’s streets and a troupe of local urban dancers, from an idea based on combining human interaction with plastic expression while uniting emotion with light and kinetic art forms. Traoré uses the levitation process (comparable to that of professional athletes) coupled with the dancers’ athletic performances, to sublimate their strongest emotions and depict their life in society.
Traoré himself is a dancer and has practiced both Capoeira and Hi-Hop since childhood. His interest and experience are evident in the authenticity of his artistic interpretation of movement, performance, light and color. He nourishes his passion for the visual arts by constant reflection on the cultural wealth of various societies, their evolution and how they coexist in an ever-changing world. Like a star that illuminates a mysterious sky, his artistic swagger is laden with hope.
Traoré spends his time in Africa, America and Europe exploring the universe of dance, music, cultural traditions, science fiction, fantasy and sport in an attempt to rewrite the narrative of an evolving world. When he photographs, Traoré is in a state of perpetual introspection. He concentrates on the composition of the image and the emotions it communicates, which are the two most important elements for him to connect to the diverse sensitivities of his audience.
Toyin I. Adekeye
A genius on a journey with elite vision & creative ability, who graduated from the Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, an artist with eyes for detail & passion for perfection.
This Nigerian born Los Angeles based award-winning director is the founder of Motherland Productions USA. He grew up in a rural community around a family who were cultured storytellers and lovers of art. He aspired to be a lawyer but after losing his father at a young age, he assumed responsibility early in life by assisting his mother in keeping the family together. In 2001, he migrated to the United States where he worked multiple jobs before he found his feet & later created Tomi International Inc in 2006 and Keyes Diagnostic Center in 2008.
Living in Los Angeles the worlds capital of filmmaking, he witnessed the power of moving images first hand & disapprove of how African stories were being told, he felt the urge & the need to tell those stories from a different perspective, he then sponsored himself through film school where he graduated top of his class as valedictorian of the Los Angeles Film School Hollywood class of 2012.
Toyin Ibrahim Adekeye has worked and traveled around the world acquiring knowledge in the world of art and cinema, some of his early credits are in “Whole ‘Nother Level” “Pitch Black” “You” “Deadly Silence” which have screened globally & on a world stage like the Cannes Marche du Film. His recent documentary “Bigger Than Africa” was nominated for the African Movie Academy Award 2018, this documentary has screened worldwide, won multiple awards around the globe and earned screening invitations from Ivy League schools like Yale.
He strongly believes the combination of his earlier rural upbringing in Africa & his adult life in the city of the United States shaped his storytelling ability & perspectives.
Celai West
Celai West, is a quirky twelve year old who is making waves in the fashion, runway, vlogging and acting industry, all while proving you can never be too cool for school. She changed the industry standards when she became the youngest professional runway model to walk amongst an all-adult lineup in NYFW, at just ten years old.
Eli Fola
Eli Fola is a Nigerian born, New York based multi-disciplinary artist, saxophonist, DJ, Producer and talking drummer. He is the creator and pioneer of the genre and live set Yoruba Tech Soul— a fusion of traditional Nigerian sounds, electronic, jazz, house, and classical music. Eli’s work authentically preserves Yoruba culture and history through his immersive performances. He is often regarded as a saxophone genius and branded with the visual art world due to his powerful imagery that showcases Yoruba regality and spirituality in a modern context. His work has been featured in publications such as Wonderland Magazine, Vogue, Okay player to name a few. He has also been sought after by Grammy winning producer Swizz Beatz and Grammy winning singer Alicia Keys as well as brands such as Art Net, Bacardi, and Art Basel. Eli was a 2017 Ted Speaker and performer. His Ted talk focused on how music can be used to reconcile and highlight differences in culture and identity.
