Born in Atar, Mauritania, in 1936 and dying in Paris in 2019, Med Hondo moved to Marseille and then Paris, where he worked in odd jobs and as an actor before directing. Soleil Ô (1967), shot over several years at his own expense, is an angry, experimental account of an African immigrant's experience in France. His epics, such as West Indies (1979), a musical on the slave trade shot on a single set, and Sarraounia (1986), the story of a woman queen who resisted French colonial conquest, are among the largest African productions of their time. He was also a notable dubbing actor of Eddie Murphy's voice for French cinema.
Filmography
- Soleil Ô (1967)
- Les Bicots-nègres, vos voisins (1974)
- West Indies (1979)
- Sarraounia (1986)