Born in Bamako in 1940, Souleymane Cissé studied cinema in Moscow and returned to Mali to work for the state film service. His films mix social realism with Bambara myth and a political awareness. Baara (1978), a story of a labour dispute, won the top prize at the Carthage festival, and Finyé (1982), a student revolt against a military regime, was widely acclaimed. Yeelen (1987), a story of magic and fatherhood among the Bambara, won the Jury Prize at Cannes, the first sub-Saharan African film to win a prize there.