Salma Khalil Alio

"My career was divided between Germany (Marburg) where my father was studying, Nigeria (Maiduguri) where he was stationed and Chad (N'Djamena). After obtaining my scientific baccalaureate in 1999, I enrolled at the Faculty of Exact and Applied Sciences of Farcha (northern district of N'Djamena) where I studied for 2 years. From 1995 to 1998, I learned the technique of creating comics with Gérard Leclaire at the educational support office. It was there that I perfected my drawing skills. Professionally, I am a secretary at the Graphic Design and Computer Graphics Workshop in N'Djamena. I worked as a receptionist, was active in several associations and finally, I am a caricaturist and editor of the satirical newspaper "Le Miroir". I also work at the Al Mouna Cultural Center as an editor and caricaturist."

"The idea of ​​writing a book is a childhood dream, just to imitate my father who was in the meantime writing his doctoral thesis. For my poetry collection, I first had the idea of ​​trying to write a few poems, like Alphonse de Lamartine or Victor Hugo. After that, I finally discovered in myself the soul of a poet and the passion for writing, which led me to write a lot of poetry. Why not look for a publisher? I said to myself."

"It's obvious that poetry seems difficult for ordinary people. I, in particular, didn't choose poetry objectively. It was rather the choice of my passion."

"At first, it wasn't easy because "Le Manuscrit" only receives texts online. And for that, I had to type the texts. Fortunately, I received help from the graphic design and computer graphics workshop, the director general of the African Intellectual Property Organization, my father, and the historian Akouya Djallah."

"It's a tale that was told to me by my mother, which was also told to her by her mother and so on... the tale tells the story of a girl who went to fetch water alone and met a witch in the forest who transformed her into a supernatural creature. To be able to adapt it to my film "Reine du Guera", I had to reinvent and innovate it"

"I loved watching them on television. It was a world that made me dream. While watching them, I asked myself lots of questions, such as, why didn't the companies that make these films make them about African or Chadian tales? And in the end, I said to myself that if they did it, why not us? Especially since, in their time, they didn't have the privilege of having all these technological tools that are at our disposal today"

"When I heard the news, I was first surprised not because I didn't have confidence in myself, but because I am a perfectionist, when I do a job, I go beyond my limits and with the "Queen of Guera" I always told myself that something was missing. Then, I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride, for my country Chad, because it is above all it that is put forward ", she says before adding, " this accomplishment is not only for me but also for all those who invested in the project."