Balla Moussa Keïta

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Balla Moussa Keïta
Born1934
Nango,
Bamako, Mali
Occupation(s)Actor, Comedian

Balla Moussa Keïta (1934 – March 6, 2001) was a

FESPACO for his role in the Guinean
film Séré, le témoin.

Biography

Early life

Balla Moussa Keïta was born in Nango, Mali, a small village about 40 km from Ségou in 1934. Sent to school in Ségou at eight, Keïta's formal education came to an end after primary school when he returned home to help his parents in farming. On the death of his father, Keïta moved to Bamako to find work. Keïta initially worked as a middleman trader, buying fish and rice from Mopti and Dioro and reselling them in Bamako.

Career

In 1960, he managed to obtain a job with the National Theater (then under the Haut Commissariat à la jeunesse - the High Commission for Youth). Under the auspices of the Commissariat, Keïta recorded his first radio broadcast for Malian radio in 1967. Initially, Keïta recorded short advisories on

bush fires
and conduct of drivers. This ultimately led to the weekly program "Prévention et Circulation routière (Prevention and Road Traffic). Keïta thus became a well-known voice on the radio, and was popularly known as "Balla Moussa". He lent voice to numerous radio shows and newscasts during this period. His voice talents were utilized by government organizations like the AMP (Agence malienne de publicité) and the ANIM (Agence nationale d'information du Mali).

In 1965, Keïta travelled to the

People's Republic of China with a Malian team to duplicate three films of socialist ideology in Bambara. The exercise lasted 5 months, but gave Keïta a valuable insight into film-making. He worked in his first film Den Muso, directed by Souleymane Cissé
, starting in 1970. He went on to star in numerous critically acclaimed films, and worked with most Malian directors of repute, and numerous other African filmmakers.

Keïta has also taught at the Institut national des arts (National Institute of the Arts) of Mali. He was awarded the Best Male Interpretation Award at the

FESPACO for his role in the Guinean
film Séré, le témoin in 1991.

Death

He died in Bamako in 2001 of pulmonary emphysema partially due to heavy lifelong smoking habits, and is survived by ten children.

Filmography

References

External links

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