Alex Ogou is an actor, screenwriter, production manager, and director. In 1999, he won the Best Actor Award at the Béziers Young Actor Festival for his role in Robert Guediguian's film "A la place du cœur" (In the Place of the Heart). In 2018, he directed the series Invisibles,
broadcast on CANAL+, which was named best foreign French-language fiction at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival, a first for an African series.
What are the major milestones in your professional career? How does one become a director?
I started my professional career in cinema somewhat by chance. As a high school student, I accompanied a friend to a casting call (which was obviously for women), and when I arrived, the casting director asked me to audition because she was looking for a young mixed-race couple for Robert Guédiguian's next film. I got my first role in A la place du cœur…
I was 17. I was taking my high school diploma exams… It was the summer of 1997.
In 1999, I won an acting award for this film at what I thought was a small festival, where I met all the actors who were considered the young generation that year. We were all starting out at the same festival with other young actors such as Audrey Tautou, Sophie Guillemin, Olivia Bonamy, etc.
After that, everything happened very quickly. I moved from in front of the camera to behind it, working as a cameraman, editor, production manager, and then director…
"Invisibles," your first series as a director, was named Best Foreign French-Language Fiction at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival. What does that mean to you?
Invisibles represents two things for me. From a personal point of view, it was my first series and I had to dig deep into my resources to bring such a project to fruition, one that deals with the value and place we give to childhood in a sick society.
Then, from a broader perspective, I wanted to raise general awareness about this issue through a very divisive social topic. It was necessary to reconcile those who want to understand and those who categorically reject these young offenders. Without bias. Except for the bias of presenting people with a mirror image of our society.
The recognition in La Rochelle also marks Africa's entry into the French-speaking audiovisual world. It is the first French-speaking African series to win an award outside Africa at a festival of this importance.
According to many observers, "Invisibles" marked the beginning of a new era in African fiction production. What do you think?
Yes, I can only agree, thanks in particular to the La Rochelle award. From my point of view, it's more of a new era in terms of broadcast formats and the type of subject matter addressed.
It's true that "formally" I approached this series as cinema for television. With all the demands that entails…
In your opinion, what conditions need to be in place to repeat such a success?
It seems to me that what made Invisibles possible, beyond the classic production model, was the fact that I had total mastery and control over my production. I was the creator, executive producer, and director. I believe that having one person in charge of all these aspects gave the project a coherent and controlled identity.
So, to potentially repeat this success, I think it's important that behind every large-scale project, there is someone who has an overall vision of the work. This ensures that nothing intangible is lost… the soul.
I believe that success lies in being able to feel someone's soul through their work. A continuous breath…
How do we find funding for these ambitious projects?
Funding always comes from a combination of sources, if I may say so. I don't know of any organization or network capable of financing this type of project on its own. Even though in the case of Invisibles, the main funding came from Canal+.
I would like to point out that even though the projects are ambitious, they do not have extraordinary budgets for what we deliver. So
,
they are more ambitious projects with controlled production costs.
You are currently filming (with François Deplanck and Tanka Studio). Can you describe this project in a few words?
Yes
,
I am currently filming my second Canal+ Original
creation.
The series is called CACAO and deals with the world of the cocoa industry through the prism of family quarrels and passionate love affairs. The series is produced by François Deplanck, with whom I had the pleasure of collaborating on Invisibles, since he was the one who signed me for the series.
I am fortunate to have been able to bring together some of the big names in African cinema for this series. You'll find out who they are when the time comes 😉
Do you think it's possible to produce national fiction that would be financially accessible to non-pan-African public or private channels?
I'm not sure I understand the question, but I would say that the real question is: can we produce African fiction nationally that would be of interest to non-pan-African channels? And indeed, this question has two aspects. Both the universal appeal of subjects located in Africa and the financial capacity to produce quality that "travels." And it seems to me that Invisibles is somewhat of a synthesis of these two points.
Ultimately, it's about writing, both narrative and visual. Of course, everything has a cost, but I remain convinced that the path to progress in the representation of African fiction around the world will involve mastering this equation. We are limited financially, but we can create works with universal appeal where the financial issue is no longer an excuse. Or at least takes a back seat…