Raymond Rajaonarivelo was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar in 1949. He studied filmmaking at the University of Montpellier and at the University of Paris. After living on the outskirts of Paris for some time, he returned to Madagascar for filmmaking. After working as a director and cinematographer, Rajaonarivelo made two Malagasy short films . His debut feature film, Tabataba (1988), told the story of a village during the 1947 Malagasy Uprising. It was the first Malagasy film to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the 1988 Audience Award. It also won the Jury award at the 1989 Taormina Film Fest, and first feature award at the 1989 Carthage Film Festival. His second film, When the Stars Meet the Sea, in 1996, fortified his position as a sensitive author, attentive to poetry and the mystical power of his native land.