Mati Diop (born 22 June 1982) is a French film director and actress. She won the Grand Prix at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for her feature film debut, the supernatural romantic drama Atlantics, and the Golden Bear at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival for her second feature film, the documentary Dahomey. As an actress, she is known for the drama film 35 Shots of Rum (2008).
Early life Diop was born in Paris, France. Her father, Wasis Diop, is a black Senegalese musician, while her mother, Christine Brossard, is a white French art buyer and photographer. She is the niece of filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambéty. During her childhood, she often travelled back and forth between France and Senegal, developing a transnational identity.
Education Diop trained in the Advanced Degree Programme at Le Fresnoy National Studio of Contemporary Art in France, as well as at the Palais de Tokyo in their experimental artist studio space Le Pavillon.
Career Diop was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study from 2014 to 2015. Her work there focused on themes of exile, identity, memory, and loss, utilizing both fiction and documentary techniques. While a part of the institute's selective Film Study Center Fellowship Program, she wrote the script for her first feature film Fire, Next Time. She later changed the title of this film to what is now known as her directorial feature film debut, Atlantics (2019).
In 2025, Mati Diop launched a U.S. university tour to present her documentary Dahomey, engaging in discussions on cultural restitution and decolonization. The tour included screenings and conversations at institutions such as Harvard University, Duke University, Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and Emory University.
Directing Diop made her directorial debut in 2004 with her short film Last Night (2004). Her short film Atlantiques (2009) won the Rotterdam International Film Festival's Tiger Award for Short Film, and a Top Prize at Media City Film Festival during her first North American appearance in 2009.
Her documentary short Mille Soleils was released in 2013. The film focused on actor Magaye Niang, who was the star of Diop's uncle's seminal feature Touki Bouki (1973) and explained how he had come to live as a farmer in the intervening years. The film played at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and was later also programmed at the Museum of Modern Art in 2014.
In 2019, she became the first black female director to have her film premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival when her feature debut Atlantics was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. She was one of only four women accepted into the festival in the given year. The film was a fictional adaptation of her documentary short Atlantiques made in 2009 that followed two friends from Senegal as they made a life-threatening boat crossing to Europe. The film won the Grand Prix. It was picked up by Netflix shortly following Cannes' award announcements, however it is not a Netflix Original Film.
Diop directed a documentary, In My Room, as part of Miu Miu's Women's Tales series, which blended audio recordings of her maternal grandmother, Maji, with footage Diop shot of herself in her Parisian apartment during the time she was quarantined during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Diop's work has been featured at the Venice Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival in 2012, and the Valdivia International Film Festival, as well as the Museum of the Moving Image in 2013.
In 2024, she won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale with the documentary, Dahomey, devoted to the question of the restitution by France of works of art stolen from Dahomey, present-day Benin.
Acting Diop made her acting debut in Claire Denis' film 35 Shots of Rum (2008), playing the lead role of a young woman in a close-knit relationship with her father, whom she has trouble leaving as she gets ready for marriage. She received a nomination for the Lumière Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in the film. In 2012, she appeared in the film Simon Killer and was also credited with the story behind the script. Diop continues to act sporadically in films and television.
Advertising In 2026, Diop featured in an advertising campaign of Phoebe Philo's eponymous fashion brand.Kaleigh Werner (11 September 2025), Phoebe Philo Sets Sheer Nail Agenda for Fall in New Campaign Women's Wear Daily.
Artistry and themes In a 2025 interview with the Financial Times, Diop discussed her cinematic approach, emphasizing the importance of centering African and diasporic narratives. She cited influences from American underground cinema, including filmmakers like Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, and highlighted her commitment to creating films that resonate deeply with African and Black audiences.
In their article on Diop's work up to Atlantics (2019), Lindsay Turner states that Diop's work is often concerned with trans-nationalism, immigration, the female experience, and post-colonialism[ in relation with North Africa and Europe. In order to start work on Atlantics, she began travelling to Senegal to reconnect with her African heritage. She says she found her voice in those journeys—and in her own French-Senegalese hyphenated identity. In an interview with Metal Magazine, Diop explains that she tackles cinematics and poetic aspects of her film with different perspectives due to the contrasting "sensibilities" of French and African cultures.
Diop uses aspects of magical realism in her films, examples including Atlantics (2019), Snow Cannon (2011), and Big in Vietnam (2012). Diop can also be quoted talking about her storytelling processes, notably on how she uses sets and props to convey her plots as opposed to just characters and dialogue. During additional interviews, Diop has mentioned that she has done a majority of her own cinematography and is deeply interested in multiculturalism and multilingualism in film, as her films are often in two to three different languages.
Filmography Acting Year Title Role Notes 2008 35 Shots of Rum Joséphine 2010 Yoshido (Les autres vies) Amy A History of Mutual Respect Short film2011 La collection Jehanne Episode: "Bye Bye" Sleepwalkers Another World Sita Television film2012 Simon Killer Victoria / Noura Fort Buchanan: Hiver Short film2014 Fort Buchanan Justine L for Leisure Stacey 2016 Hermia & Helena Danièle 2022 Both Sides of the Blade Gabrielle
Filmmaking Year TitleDirectorWriterCinematographer Notes 2004 Last Night Short film 2006 Île artificielle – Expédition Short film 2009 Atlantiques Documentary short2011 Sleepwalkers Snow Canon Short film2012 Simon Killer Big in Vietnam Short film2013 Les Apaches Costume designer Mille Soleils Documentary short 2014 Les 18 du 57, Boulevard de Strasbourg Short film, co-director (Collectif des Cinéastes Pour les Sans-Papiers) 2015 Liberian Boy Short film, co-directed with Manon Lutanie 2017 Olympus Short film2019 30 (+) films pour la 30ème (Segment: "Untitled") Documentary, also editor and producer Atlantics 2020 In My Room Documentary short 2021 Wasis Diop – Voyage à Paris Music video 2022 Naked Blue Short film, co-directed with Manon Lutanie 2024 Dahomey Documentary
Accolades +Awards and nominationsYearFestivalAwardsFilmResult2010Cinèma du RèelLouis Marcorelles Award – MentionAtlantiques2011 Venice Film FestivalQueer LionSnow Cannon2010Rotterdam International Film FestivalTiger Award for Short FilmBig in Vietnam2012Atlantiques2013Amiens International Film FestivalPrix du Moyen mètrageMille Solelies 2013CPH:DOXNew Vision Award2013Montréal Festival of New CinemaLoup Argenté2014Black Movie Film FestivalCritics Prize2014IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival Short Film Grand Prize2019Boston Society of Film Critics AwardsBSFC Award: Best New FilmmakerAtlantics2019CamerimageBest Directorial Debut2019Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize of the Jury Palme d'Or Caméra d'Or 2019Carthage Film FestivalTanit d'Argent Tanit d'Or2019Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Milos Stehlik Award: Most Promising Filmmaker 2019Denver International Film FestivalKrzysztof Kieslowski Award: Best Feature Film2019European Film AwardsEuropean Film Award: European Discovery2019Ghent International Film FestivalGrand Prix: Best Film2019Greater Western New York Film Critics Association AwardsGWNYFCA Award: Breakthrough Director2019Hamptons International Film Festival Golden Starfish Award: Narrative Feature 2019Indiewire Critics' PollIPC Award: Best First Feature 2019Key West Film Festival Critics' Choice Award2019London Film Festival Sutherland Award: First Feature Competition 2019Mumbai Film Festival International Competition: Golden Gateway Award 2019Odyssey AwardsOdyssey Award: Breakthrough Director2019Pingyao International Film FestivalPeople's Choice Award: Best of Fest – Best Film2019Prix Louis Delluc Prix Louis Delluc: Best First Film2019San Sebastián International Film Festival Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize 2019Stockholm Film FestivalImpact Award2019Toronto Film Critics Association AwardsTFCA Award: Best First Feature2019Women Film Critics Circle AwardsWFCC Award: Best Woman Storyteller2020Austin Film Critics AssociationAFCA Award: Best First Film2020Black Reel AwardsOutstanding Director, Motion Picture. Outstanding Emerging Director.
Outstanding First Screenplay. 2020Cinema Eye Honors Awards, USHeterodox Award2020Cèsar Awards, FranceCèsar: Best First Film2020Directors Guild of America, USADGA Award: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film2020Gold Derby AwardsGold Derby Award: Foreign Language Film2020Image Awards (NAACP)Image Award: Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Film) 2020International Cinephile Society AwardsICS Award: Best Debut Feature2020Lumière Awards, France Lumière Award: Best First Film2020Online Film and Television AssociationOFTA Film Award: Best Feature Debut 2020Online Film Critics Society AwardsOFCS Award: Best Debut2020 Palm Springs International Film FestivalDirectors to Watch FIPRESCI Prize 2024 Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Dahomey
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