Born in 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania, he is a film director and filmmaker.

He grew up in Mali, his father’s homeland, where he completed a part of his studies. Then, after a short stay in Mauritania, his mother’s native country, he left for the USSR and studied cinema in Moscow at the VGIK (Federal State Insitute of Cinema) from 1983 to 1989.

In the early 1990s, Abderrahmane Sissako settled in France. In 2007, he was president of the jury of the Festival Premiers Plans in Angers, France. He was also member of the jury of the Festival de Cannes.

The main theme of his movies is exile and displacement. He uses parts of his personal story in his films. He is, along with Souleymane Cissé, one of the rare black African film directors to be famous internationally.

He is a member of the Paris Committee since it was created in 2007.