Born in Senegal, Aïssa Maïga arrived in France at the age of 4. She began her film career as an actress and now has more than thirty films to her credit. Through the diversity of her roles, Aïssa Maïga intends to cultivate a versatility of acting and artistic collaborations: she has notably played for Michael Haneke, Cédric Klapisch, Philippe Lioret, Michel Gondry and Mahamat Saleh Haroun. In 2007, the drama “Bamako” by Abderrahmane Sissako, in which she played the main role, earned her a nomination in the category of best female hope at the 32nd Cesar ceremony. She has always fought for racial equality, women's rights and is involved in humanitarian causes. She thus initiated the writing of the collective essay "Black is not my profession" (Editions du Seuil, 2018), with fifteen black or mixed-race actresses to denounce the too limited range of roles offered to them. In 2021, she directed for Canal+, with Nolita TV and Zadig Productions, the documentary “Regard noir”, adapted from “Black is not my job”. The same year, she released the documentary "Above Water", her first feature film.