Regard Noir Screening and Talk with Aïssa Maïga

Aïssa Maïga is a Franco-Senegalese actress, director, writer, producer, and activist. Maïga has worked with directors such as Abderrahmane Sissako, Michael Haneke, and Michel Gondry. She appeared in numerous films including Bamako, Caché, Paris, je t'aime, Bianco e nero and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. She has been nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actress and won Best Actress at the 2009 Festival du Cinema Italien de Bastia. Maïga with fifteen other Black actresses created the DiasporAct collective who published Noire n'est pas mon métier. The essays are in response to a lack of representation and inclusion in French cinema. DiasporAct Collective held a peaceful anti-racism protest at the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival. Together a group of women stood at the top of the festival's red carpet with raised fists while dancing to the Rihanna song Diamonds to protest the racial bias and discrimination that is rampant within French film industry.

Regard noir is a documentary she co-directed with Isabelle Simeoni that follows travels from France, Brazil, and the United States to meet people committed and in search of inclusivity in filmmaking. During this trip they explore the roots of systemic racism and the impact of discrimination and stereotypes in films. Some of the notable testimonies include Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and Nadège Beausson-Diagne.