Born in 1943 in Kankan (Guinea), Cheik Doukouré arrived in France in 1964. He enrolled at the Sorbonne and studied modern literature. He began his career as an actor and worked with directors like Audiard, Mocky, and Girod. On stage, he acted in plays directed by Chéreau, Hossein, and Mondy. In 1977 he wrote the screenplay for Bako, and in 1985 co-wrote Black Mic-Mac. In 1991, he began a career as a director with Ebony White. He then directed the Golden Ball (1993) which, with 450,000 admissions in France was one of the most successful films from Africa. In 2001 he made Paris selon Moussa. Doukouré was awarded the Award for Best Actor at the 18th edition of Fespaco (Pan-African Film Festival of Ouagadougou), for his role in Paris selon Moussa in 2003. —Africuture