One of the first directors from Burkina Faso, among the world's poorest nations, to gain international attention. After graduating from the film institute of the University of Ouagadougou, Ouedraogo began to make short films under the auspices of the Burkina Faso government. After several of these ("Les Ecuelles" 1983, "Issa le Tisserand" 1985) won international awards, Ouedraogo successfully ventured into feature-length films co-produced with French and/or Swiss support. His "Yam Daabo/The Choice" (1986), about a desert family's migration to more fertile land, and "Yaaba/Grandmother" (1989),
Enjoyed earliest encounters with film at "the moving cinema" (not meaning theaters where motion pictures were shown, but government-sponsored outdoor "theaters" that literally moved from village to village)
After graduating from INAFEC, became a government employee in Burkina Faso as an administrator of motion picture production
