diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/python-fontconfig/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/python-fontconfig/default.nix
index 872fffb7576..dbfde18a874 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/python-fontconfig/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/python-fontconfig/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ lib, buildPythonPackage, fetchPypi, fontconfig, python, freefont_ttf, makeFontsConf }:
+{ lib, buildPythonPackage, fetchPypi, fontconfig, python, cython, freefont_ttf, makeFontsConf }:
 
 let
   fontsConf = makeFontsConf {
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@ in buildPythonPackage rec {
   };
 
   buildInputs = [ fontconfig ];
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ cython ];
+
+  preBuild = ''
+    ${python.interpreter} setup.py build_ext -i
+  '';
 
   checkPhase = ''
     export FONTCONFIG_FILE=${fontsConf};