Assa Sylla

Assa Sylla
Assa Sylla
Born	Assa Aïcha Sylla; 3 June 1996 (age 28); 15th arrondissement, Paris, France
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2014–present

Assa Aïcha Sylla (born 3 June 1996) is a French actress and writer. She debuted in the film Girlhood (2014), which earned her César and Black Reel Award nominations. She has since starred in the French version of Skam (2018–2020), the Netflix series Mortel (2019), and the film The Last Mercenary (2021).

Early life

Sylla was born in the 15th arrondissement of Paris south of the river to Soninke parents from Mauritania, her father a cleaner and her mother a stay-at-home mother, and grew up in the Barbès area of the 18th arrondissement north of the river.^[1]^[2] She has three sisters and two brothers. She is Muslim.^[3]

Sylla attended Lycée Edgar Quinet Filières Professionnelles. She was scouted at 17 by the Girlhood casting directors when she accompanied her friends to the auditions.^[4] Then, she played the role of the Franco-Malian boxer Aya Cissoko in Danbé, la tête haute - portraying the boxer's teenage years. For this role, she took intensive boxing lessons whilst continuing to study for her baccalauréat professionnel.^[5]

Bibliography

"Raising Hope" in My Profession is Not Black by Aïssa Maïga (2018)^[6]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Girlhood (French: Bande de filles)	Lady / Sophie
2016	Verdon Secret	Clara
2016	Na tout pour elle	Aminata	Short film
2017	Accidental Family	Young Woman
2017	Lola Pater	Caroline
2017	Chateau	Starting Woman
2018	Blue Queen	Nina	Short film
2019	Plus jamais je ne t'aimerai	Assa	Short film
2019	Numéro 10	Awa	Short film
2021	The Last Mercenary	Dalila
2022	Umami
2024	Le Roi des ombres

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Danbé, Head Held High (French: Danbé, la tête haute)	16-year-old Aya Cissoko	Television film^[7]
2014	Spiral	Vanessa	1 episode
2014	Falco	Jennifer	Episode: "À l'état brut"^[8]
2018–2020	Skam France	Imane Bakhellal	Main role (seasons 1–5) Recurring role (season 6)
2019	Mortel	Nora Cissoko	Main role
2021	Regard noir	Herself	Documentary^[9]
2024	Nonkels	Safa Ngogo	Season 2

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2019	Golden Moustache		Episode: "Le Nouveau Don Juan"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2015	César Awards	Most Promising Actress	Girlhood	Nominated
2016	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Breakthrough Performance – Female	Girlhood	Nominated

References

^ Kabeya, Nicky (19 April 2021). "ASSA SYLLA : L'actrice qui monte !". Roots (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Romney, Jonathan (26 April 2015). "The stars of Girlhood: 'Our poster is all over Paris, with four black faces on it…'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Tshidimba, Karin (4 April 2019). "Imane, jeune fille musulmane sans cliché au cœur de la saison 4 de Skam". La Libre Belgique (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Lassale, Julie (5 June 2019). "Assa Sylla, gouaille d'or". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Metreau, Joel (22 January 2015). "Assa Sylla, jeune espoir du cinéma français". www.20minutes.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
^ Gallois, Laurence (16 June 2019). "Assa Sylla (Skam) : "Imane, c'est le rôle dont je suis la plus fière"". Télé-Loisirs (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Metreau, Joel (22 January 2015). "«Danbé, la tête haute»: Assa Sylla fait son entrée sur le ring". 20 Minutes (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Muscarnera, Pascal (5 April 2019). "SKAM France : focus sur Assa Sylla / Imane, l'héroïne de la saison 4". AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ Letertre, Marilyne (6 March 2021). "L'actrice Aïssa Maïga pose son "Regard noir" sur le cinéma". Madame Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

External links

Assa Sylla at IMDb

[1] Kabeya, Nicky (19 April 2021). "ASSA SYLLA : L'actrice qui monte !". Roots (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[2] Romney, Jonathan (26 April 2015). "The stars of Girlhood: 'Our poster is all over Paris, with four black faces on it…'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[3] Tshidimba, Karin (4 April 2019). "Imane, jeune fille musulmane sans cliché au cœur de la saison 4 de Skam". La Libre Belgique (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[4] Lassale, Julie (5 June 2019). "Assa Sylla, gouaille d'or". Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[5] Metreau, Joel (22 January 2015). "Assa Sylla, jeune espoir du cinéma français". www.20minutes.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

[6] Gallois, Laurence (16 June 2019). "Assa Sylla (Skam) : "Imane, c'est le rôle dont je suis la plus fière"". Télé-Loisirs (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[7] Metreau, Joel (22 January 2015). "«Danbé, la tête haute»: Assa Sylla fait son entrée sur le ring". 20 Minutes (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[8] Muscarnera, Pascal (5 April 2019). "SKAM France : focus sur Assa Sylla / Imane, l'héroïne de la saison 4". AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

[9] Letertre, Marilyne (6 March 2021). "L'actrice Aïssa Maïga pose son "Regard noir" sur le cinéma". Madame Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.

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