Babetida Sadjo

A series regular in the popular Netflix series, INTO THE NIGHT and in the Arte/VRT series, LOST LUGGAGE, Babetida Sadjo will soon be seen in the new series MOLOCH (RTBF) and in the upcoming feature film, Ritueel by Hans Herbots which will hit cinemas in September 2022.

Babetida Sadjo is one of the rare artists working consistently between the stage, the big screen and the smaller screen. She’s also an accomplished writer and director. Refusing to be boxed into one discipline, she’s eager to explore various artforms to express her boundless creativity.

Born in Guinea Bissau, Babetida spent part of her adolescence in Vietnam before settling in Belgium with her family at the age of 17. Passionate about theatre since middle school, she went on to graduate from the Royal Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Brussels. She performed in several staged productions in Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Tunisia and Burkina Faso.

Her film career was launched in 2014 with WASTE LAND by Pieter Van Hees, for which she became the first black woman to win an Ensor for Best Supporting Actress. She received international recognition for her work in PARADISE SUITE by Joost Van Ginkel, which was preselected for the Academy Awards, and AND BREATHE NORMALLY by Ísold Uggadóttir, awarded at theSundance Film Festival, where she plays one of the lead roles. In 2020, she was crowned best actress at the South Australian Screen Awards, as well as at Cinefest Oz (Australia) for AYAAN by Alies Sluiter. She also leads the cast of OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL by Ellie Foumbi which premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival and went on to win the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2022Tribeca Film Festival. She also picked up the Best Actress Award at FICKIN and Best Supporting Actress in a Supporting Role at Durban International Film Festival for her lead performance in Nganji Leah’s JUWAA.

As a writer and director, she wrote the stage play LES MURS MURMURENT in 2017, a monologue about the impact of growing up without a paternal figure. In film, she wrote and directed the documentary BAFATA BLUES (2007) and the short film HEMATOME in which she also stars, produced by 10.80 Films. She’s currently writing her next theatrical creation in Guinea Bissau and her first feature-length film.