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Born in 1976, she left her homeland at the age of seven and
spent 17 years in the United States where she studied film and
then worked in Los Angeles.
When she decided to return to focus her work on Africa, she
found herself in a male-dominated industry and a society where
her elders demanded a kind of deference that often hindered her
ability to direct on the set.
"It was difficult," she said in an interview with Reuters in the
garden of her home in the capital Ouagadougou.
"I had to bang on the table. I had to be direct and raw. There
were lots of fights before I imposed myself. I think if I had
been a man, it wouldn't have been like that."
Frustrated by two-dimensional portrayals of African women on the
screen, Traore aims to tell their stories her own way.
"Having women in the industry is very important. We have a
different vision. We see things differently," she said. "It's
not only in Africa."
Her 2013 entry at Fespaco, "Moi Zaphira", told the fictional
story of a young woman who seeks to break out of the confines of
her village and forge a better life for herself and her
daughter.
Her latest film, "Frontieres", centers on four market women who
travel across West Africa from Dakar, Senegal to Lagos, Nigeria,
braving corrupt border guards and the ever-present threat of
violence to earn a living.
"It was an experience for me to really see how Africa struggles
and how these extraordinary women struggle for a better life and
confront all off these dangers," Traore said.
"Frontieres" missed out on Fespaco's top honor this year, which
went to Senegalese director Alain Gomis for "Felicite", the
story of a nightclub singer in Congo's dilapidated mega-city
Kinshasa.
It did however pick up three prizes, including the Paul Robeson
Prize for the best film by a director from the African diaspora.
Traore said she already has her next project in mind, though she
declined to give details.
"I think in our trade the only way to impose yourself is to
produce. It's a very hard field," she said. "It's always a
struggle, because it's art and so you are always trying to
convince people."
For a related story on the festival, click on
(Reporting by Joe Bavier; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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