Office Address

343 New Cabell Hall

Mamadou Dia is a filmmaker who has written and directed award-winning fiction films and documentaries based on his experience growing up in Senegal. A NYU Tisch MFA graduate, he debuted in 2016 with his short Samedi Cinema, which premiered at Venice and Toronto Film Festival.

His first feature, Baamum Nafi (2019), which explored the life of an imam and father in Northern Senegal, won the Best First Feature Award at Locarno and was Senegal’s official Oscar entry, screening at over 80 festivals worldwide. His second feature, Demba (2024), premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and examines grief and indigenous mental health practices in Senegal. Both features had theatrical release in Senegal. 

A Guggenheim and Creative Capital Fellow, Mamadou is currently developing his third feature, Augustus, inspired by the life of 19th-century African-American daguerreotypist Augustus Washington who opened in 1860 the first documented studio in Saint Louis of Senegal. In 2025, he became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 

Mamadou Dia’s film “Bamuum Nafi” represented Senegal in the 2021 Oscar race. Produced entirely with Senegalese funding, Dia’s feature film follows in the footsteps of “Félicité” by Alain Gomis and “Atlantique” by Mati Diop.