Gentille M. Assih

Writer-director Gentille M. Assih received university training in communications and human resources before studying writing and documentary filmmaking. In 2006, Assih studied screenwriting and documentary making with Africadoc, in Senegal. During this same period, she earned a BTS in communication from the African Institute of Commercial Studies. She earned her master’s in film from the Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in 2013. In 2009, she directed her first documentary, Itchombi, produced by Ardèche Images Production. That same year, she produced and directed the short drama Bidenam, l’espoir d’un village with the support of the Goethe Institute of Johannesburg. It won the Jury Prize at the Vues d’Afrique International Film Festival in Montreal. In 2010, she made the documentary Akpéma, which laid the groundwork for Le rite, la folle et moi (The Rite, the Madwoman and Me), in which she studies the initiation rite for women in northern Togo. Released in 2012, it won numerous awards, including the audience choice award for best documentary film at the Festival Cinémas d’Afrique d’Angers in France.

Also see: Into the Light from NFB.

Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release

Le prix du velo (2004)
La vendeuse contaminee (2004)
Itchombi (2009, documentary)
Bidenam, l’espoir d’un village (2009, short)

Akpéma (2010, documentary)
Le Rite, la Folle et moi (2012, documentary)

Sortir de ombre (aka Into the Light, 2020, documentary)