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- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sofia Boutella is an Algerian actress, dancer and model. She was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers in Algeria, the daughter of composer and jazz musician Safy Boutella, and an architect mother. She started classical dance education when she was five years old. In 1992, at age 10, she left Algeria with her family and moved to France, where she started rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at age 18. Sofia started with hip hop and street dance, and was part of a group called the Vagabond Crew. She also participated in a group called Chienne de Vie and Aphrodites. She has been rehearsing since age 17 with choreographer Blanca Li, and danced in several film and television appearances, as well as commercials and concert tours.
In 2007, her breakthrough arrived when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike as a role model of femininity and hip-hop. This was a major boost to her career and led to more work alongside stars like Madonna in her Confessions Tour, and Rihanna. Sofia successfully auditioned for Michael Jackson's This Is It Tour, but could not attend due to the extension of Madonna's tour, whose dates coincided with Jackson's residency. In February 2011, she was the main character in Michael's last music video Michael Jackson: Hollywood Tonight (2011).
Sofia played the lead character Eva in the drama film StreetDance 2 (2012), she starred as the assassin Gazelle in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), an alien warrior named Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond (2016), the main antagonist, Princess Ahmanet, in Universal's Dark Universe film The Mummy (2017), and an undercover French agent in Atomic Blonde (2017) alongside Charlize Theron, and many other great movies since then.- Actress
- Producer
Edwige Fenech was born Edwige Sfenek on December 24, 1948, in Bone, Constantine, France, to a Maltese father and an Italian mother. She began her show-business career as a participant in beauty contests (she won the title of "Miss Mannequin de la Cote d'Azur" at age 16 and even won a Miss France beauty contest) and worked as a photo model prior to making her film debut in the comedy Toutes folles de lui (1967). She appeared in such saucy West German sex farces as Alle Kätzchen naschen gern (1969) and Sexy Susan Sins Again (1968).
With her lustrous and long black hair, lovely and sensuous face, full shapely figure and smoldering screen presence, Edwige soon became a very popular and much sought-after actress in a diverse array of European productions made in Italy, France, Spain and West Germany. She achieved her greatest enduring cult cinema popularity by starring in several superior Italian giallos for director Sergio Martino: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), They're Coming to Get You! (1972) and Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) (she was the onetime girlfriend of Martino's producer brother, Luciano Martino).
Edwige also acted for Martino in a handful of racy Italian sex comedies and the Italian mini-series Delitti privati (1993). Other noted Italian film directors Fenech has worked for are Mario Bava (Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970)), Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)), Andrea Bianchi (Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)), Umberto Lenzi (The Biggest Battle (1978)), Steno (Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot (1979)), Dino Risi (Sono fotogenico (1980)) and Ruggero Deodato (Phantom of Death (1987)).
She demonstrated her exceptional range and skill as an actress with enjoyably uninhibited performances in such amusingly bawdy Italian comedic romps as Quel gran pezzo della Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda (1972) and The School Teacher (1975). Edwige became a television personality in the 1980s and made frequent appearances on an Italian chat show along with fellow giallo goddess Barbara Bouchet. Moreover, Fenech launched her own fashion line and founded her own film production company, Immagine e Cinema S.r.l., with her son Edwin Fenech (she co-produced the 2004 film The Merchant of Venice (2004) as well as various Italian TV mini-series and made-for-TV features).
In the mid-1990s Edwige was engaged to famous Italian industrialist Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. She made a welcome return to acting with a small but funny part as an alluring art class professor in Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II (2007).- Lyna Khoudri was born on 3 October 1992 in Alger, Algeria. She is an actress, known for The French Dispatch (2021), Papicha (2019) and The Blessed (2017).
- Shirine Boutella was born on 22 August 1990 in Algiers, Algeria. She is an actress, known for Lupin (2021), Pamela Rose, la série (2023) and Papicha (2019).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Daniel Auteuil was born on 24 January 1950 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is an actor and director, known for Caché (2005), Jean de Florette (1986) and The Well-Digger's Daughter (2011). He has been married to Aude Ambroggi since 22 July 2006. They have one child. He was previously married to Emmanuelle Béart and Anne Jousset.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Solveig Dommartin was born on 16 May 1961 in Constantine, Constantine, France [now Algeria]. She was an actress and director, known for Wings of Desire (1987), Until the End of the World (1991) and It Would Only Take a Bridge (1998). She died on 11 January 2007 in Paris, France.- Editor
- Producer
- Editorial Department
Thelma Schoonmaker was born on 3 January 1940 in Algiers, Algeria. She is an editor and producer, known for The Departed (2006), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) and The Irishman (2019). She was previously married to Michael Powell.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Françoise Fabian was born on 10 May 1933 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. She is an actress and writer, known for My Night at Maud's (1969), Belle de Jour (1967) and Me, Myself and Mum (2013). She was previously married to Marcel Bozzuffi and Jacques Becker.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Jobert was born in 1940 in Algeria. She studied drama and fine art in Paris, made her acting debut on the stage in 1963 and secured her first film role in Louis Malle's The Thief of Paris (1967) in 1966. Her big break came with her casting as "Elisabeth" in Jean-Luc Godard's Masculine Feminine (1966), in which she performed alongside Brigitte Bardot and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and other high profile roles in star-studded casts followed. She gave a particularly powerful performance in Maurice Pialat's 1971 production, We Won't Grow Old Together (1972). Roles became rarer in the 1980s and Jobert increased her television and radio work by way of compensation.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Born in Oran, French Algeria in 1958, Alain Chabat moved with his family to Massy, a suburb of Paris, as the Algeria War came to an end in 1963. In 1987, he started a comedy sketch group for television called Les Nuls which developed a cult following. His acting career led to four Césars awards for films and a gig dubbing the character of Shrek for the French release versions of the franchise.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Patrick Bruel was born on May 14, 1959 in Tlemcen, Oran, France as Patrick Benguigui. He is one of the most famous French singer and actor, known for Le prénom (2012), and Un secret (2007). He was married to writer Amanda Sthers from September 2004 to 2008 . They have two children Oscar and Leon.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Kad Merad was born on 27 March 1964 in Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for Welcome to the Sticks (2008), The Chorus (2004) and Baron noir (2016).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
One of the most popular and respected actors to come from the French "New Wave" film movement, Jean-Claude Brialy was born to a military family, which included one brother, in French colonial Algeria on March 30, 1933. Residing in various places while his father, a colonel with the French Army, went through the paces of his career, Brialy attended military school in 1946 and also worked in the theatre as a youth. He studied dramatics at a conservatory in Strasbourg, France, the Saint-Etienne Episcopal College.
Following time spent in the theatre, he moved to Paris in 1954 to pursue his career, without the support of his family, and worked various odd jobs before entering military service in Germany. Mixing in with a revolutionary group of artists that included Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard, he appeared as an extra in Jean Renoir's Elena and Her Men (1956) [Paris Does Strange things] and befriended other such rising film radicals as Éric Rohmer and Jacques Rivette while appearing in their short films. He grew in stature with featured roles in Girl in His Pocket (1957) [Girl in His Pocket] and L'ami de la famille (1957) [A Friend of the Family], but it was his friend Chabrol who provided him the leap to stardom with Le Beau Serge (1958), which is (arguably) considered the forerunner in "New Wave" filming. Co-starring Gérard Blain in the title role, Brialy played a city boy sophisticate returning to his simplified home village just to find that everything had changed and that his once promising friend (Blain) had become a chronic drunkard. He and Blain furthered their stars next playing each other's kin in Chabrol's The Cousins (1959), with Blain the innocent and Bialy the darkly disillusioned cousin. Bialy's association with other French avant-garde directors, including Godard, 'Francois Truffaut' and Louis Malle, placed him in excellent "New Wave" company alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Léaud and the afore-mentioned Blain, as strong, influential leading men.
Known for his lightness, passion, charm and subtlety of performance, Bialy's versatility in films ranged from stark melodrama to comedy farce. While essaying the elegant boulevardier with great sophistication and sympathy, he could just as easily slip into a character's dark and deep cynicism and/or contempt. He starred opposite a fantasia of Europe's loveliest leading ladies including Rosanna Schiaffino, Danielle Darrieux, Nadja Tiller, Elsa Martinelli, Françoise Dorléac, Geneviève Page and Dawn Addams. He ended the 60s notably paired with the enigmatic Jeanne Moreau in Truffaut's stylish Hitchockian thriller The Bride Wore Black (1968) [The Bride Wore Black].
In the 1970s Brialy extended his talents to include writing and directing, which included his debut film, the award-winning Églantine (1972). Most of the works he helmed were delightfully nostalgic and family-oriented in fashion. He also entered a newer phase of supporting character roles that also went on to court awards. After beginning the decade in one of his best film leads with Claire's Knee (1970) [Claire's Knee] for director/friend Rohmer, he earned a supporting César nomination for The Judge and the Assassin (1976) and then won the trophy a decade later for his secondary work in Les innocents (1987). During this time he also organized or supported several film and theatre festivals. He was the director of both the Théâtre Hébertot (1977) and the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens (1986). A long time artistic director of the Festival of Anjou (1985-2001), he was also the creator and artistic director of the Festival of Ramatuelle from 1985. His work also included radio and extensive TV.
Off stage Brialy was a witty raconteur and bon vivant. He was also one of the select few French stars to be openly gay. It was most fitting that two of his more notable roles came late in life -- as the gay uncle in Chabrol's Inspector Lavardin (1986), and as the poet Max Jacob in Monsieur Max (2007), a homosexual Jew who converted to Catholicism before perishing in a Gestapo prison camp.
An occasional yet prolific writer on film, Brialy penned his autobiography Le ruisseau des singes (auto) in 2000 and his memoir, J'ai oublié de vous dire, in 2004. He owned a restaurant, L'Orangerie, in the Saint Louis Island of Paris and died on May 30, 2007, after a extended bout with cancer. Among his many honors: The Commander of the Legion of Honor and the National Order of Merit.- Danièle Ciarlet, AKA Zouzou, has become one of the most revered - even though quite obscure for most - icons of the 60s Parisian scene. Discovered at age 16 by then young design artist Jean-Paul Goude, she briefly modeled for Yves Saint Laurent, and, as a tireless night-clubber, was better known, in the early 60s, under the nickname "Zouzou la twisteuse". Shortly after that, she got romantically involved with Rolling Stones member Brian Jones, whom she followed around the world. She was also a good friend of John Lennon and George Harrison and was photographed by Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton, met Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and most of all, Jack Nicholson who remained, along with Marianne Faithfull, very... faithful friends. She also recorded two EPs as a singer at the end of the 60s, and a duet with Dani, another French 60s icon. After a few roles in underground and experimental French films (under the direction of Philippe Garrel or Yves Lagrange), she got a cinematographic breakthrough in 1972 with Eric Rohmer's L'amour l'après-midi, and developed an international career as an actress, a career which unfortunately, and progressively, slowed down because of her addiction to heroin. She spent seven years on the Cariibean Island of Saint Barthélémy to shape up, but her return to Paris, in the mid-80s, was followed by two jail incarcerations due to mild drug dealings. In the mid-90s, drug free at last, she got a fresh start solding the newspapers "La rue" and "Le réverbère" (the equivalent of British "The Big Issue") in the Parisian metro. In November 2003, the autobiography "Zouzou jusqu'à l'aube" ("Zouzou until Dawn") was released, in which she recounted with utmost honesty the extreme ups and downs of her incredible life. A compilation of all her songs was also released, and a documentary, "Zouzou l'héroïne", told in images the fate of probably one of the most beautiful woman of the world, revered as the "female Marlon Brando" when she burst into the Parisian scene.
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Nicole Garcia was born on 22 April 1946 in Oran, France [now Algeria]. She is an actress and writer, known for From the Land of the Moon (2016), My American Uncle (1980) and Alias Betty (2001).- Actress
- Visual Effects
Ogy Durham was born in Bouzareah, Algiers, Algeria. She is an actress, known for In2ition (2008), 11:14 (2003) and How I Met Your Mother (2005).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Didier Bourdon was born on 23 January 1959 in Alger, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for Les trois frères (1995), A Good Year (2006) and Madame Irma (2006).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Lyès Salem was born on 7 July 1973 in Alger, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for The Man from Oran (2014), Mascarades (2008) and Cousins (2004).- Zahia Dehar, born in Ghriss (Algeria) on February 25, 1992, is a former French-Algerian escort-girl, now a model, lingerie designer and actress. In April 2010, Zahia Dehar made the news when broke in France "Zahia case". Footballers from France are suspected of having sex with Zahia Dehar, then a minor. Interviewed by the press, she presents herself as an escort-girl and not a prostitute. The instruction ends shortly thereafter. A few months later, the girl reappears under the eye of the paparazzi, transfigured in a Missoni dress. Zahia Dehar has become a french fashion icon. She poses for the prestigious magazines Vanity Fair and V, and plays in clips of the American underground scene. In 2012, Zahia Dehar presented her own line of lingerie, for which she surrounded herself with the greatest professionals (the Caraco workshops, the corset maker François Tamarin). She represents the European free woman. She plays in 2019, the lead role in "An Easy Girl" feature film by director Rebecca Zlotowski.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Ben Youcef is an avid traveler, sports enthusiast (semi-pro tennis player) and international history buff with expertise in cultures, religions, architecture and landmarks. Born in Algiers, Algeria, raised in Saudi Arabia, & educated in London, he is an Actor and Activist, discovered by Steven Spielberg in Munich. As a theater trained actor, Youcef has worked in stage, television, and film and was a top model in NYC for Gucci, Armani, Donna Karan, Hugo Boss, H&M and more. Upon moving to LA, he worked as guest leads on Law & Order, CSI: NY, NCIS: LA and Chicago P.D. Co-starring in From The Rough, opposite Taraji P. Henson and the late Michael Clark Duncan, Youcef won Best Actor at the prestigious London International Film Festival. The son of a diplomat, he speaks several languages. Fluent in Arabic, Youcef is the go-to consultant and voice-over expert for all five Arabic dialects in major film and television productions and the lead voice in Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and X-Men: Apocalypse. Steven Spielberg encouraged Youcef to volunteer as part of a non-profit Abrahamic Inter-Faith group of Jews/Christians/Muslims in Los Angeles. Youcef's "Call to Prayer" became a worldwide viral sensation with over 20 million views on YouTube & NPR. Oscar-Winning composer, Philip Glass, requested Youcef to join him at the Hollywood Bowl to perform the Call to Prayer in "Powaqqatsi" in front of 18,000 guests, with the Los Angeles Times Review calling his performance "uniquely moving and important." A global media darling, the The International Press praised Youcef for his ability to "captivate people with his extraordinary charisma and talent." His popularity stems from his generous spirit and punchy personality, always make him a fan favorite. In February 2023 Youcef wrapped Lonely Planet for Netflix acting opposite Liam Hemsworth and the Oscar-Winner Laura Dern. Additionally, he finished famed Director and Academy Award nominee, Chris Weitz's new project They Listen.- Actor
- Writer
Moussa Maaskri was born on 15 November 1962 in Chelghoum Laïd, Algeria. He is an actor and writer, known for Mondialito (2000), 22 Bullets (2010) and Stillwater (2021).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Jean-Yves d'Angelo was born on 26 June 1959 in Algiers, Algeria. He is a composer and actor, known for The Ray Bradbury Theater (1985), Rewind (1998) and Hunting and Gathering (2007). He has been married to Valérie Kaprisky since 2011.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Marilyne Canto was born on 18 October 1961 in Oran, Algeria. She is an actress and director, known for Fais de beaux rêves (2005), Sense of Humor (2013) and Nouilles (1987). She was previously married to Benoît Régent.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Tony Gatlif was born on 10 September 1948 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is a director and writer, known for Vengo (2000), Freedom (2009) and The Crazy Stranger (1997).- Actor
- Writer
Jean-Pierre Bacri was born on 24 May 1951 in Castiglione, Alger, France [now Bou Ismail, Algeria]. He was an actor and writer, known for Look at Me (2004), The Taste of Others (2000) and Family Resemblances (1996). He was married to Agnès Jaoui. He died on 18 January 2021 in Paris, France.- Actress
- Costume Designer
- Soundtrack
Leading French actress and dancer, born Annette Marie Mathilde Gautsch in Constantine, Algeria. Francoise was the daughter of French Artillery General Charles-Lionel-Honoré Arnould (1882-1969), who was stationed in Morocco when she was born. Her family moved to Paris in 1945, where she studied drama under Andrée Bauer-Thérond, and four years later made her motion picture debut. The story goes that the director Willy Rozier saw a photograph of her, was captivated by her face and petite figure and promptly cast her as the female lead in his drama Sin and Desire (1949), often considered his best work. For much of the succeeding decade Francoise enjoyed a pre-Bardot sex symbol status, usually cast as temperamental, brooding or promiscuous heroines or femmes fatale opposite leading popular actors like Jean Gabin, Alain Delon and Charles Boyer. She was directed on five occasions by Henri Verneuil, who, along with Roger Vadim, had a lot to do with establishing her preeminent screen personae. Her best known starring roles were in Forbidden Fruit (1952), Les amants du tage (1955), Jean Renoir's evocative French Cancan (1955) (as Nini, the bakery girl turned dancer), Des gens sans importance (1956), Le chemin des écoliers (1959) and Julien Duvivier's The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962). Francoise's first exposure to American audiences was Vadim's Companions of the Night (1953), but some of her other films were banned in the U.S. and in Britain she was tagged as the 'X Girl'. Her career went into decline as Brigitte Bardot rose to prominence. Francoise continued to work as a character actress, primarily in television, well into her eighties.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria. His parents were Spanish-French-Algerian (pied noir) colonists. His father, Lucien, died in the Battle of Marne (1914) during WWI. His mother, named Catherine Helene Sintes was of Spanish origin, she was a deaf mute due to a stroke, but she was able to read lips and worked as a cleaning lady, providing for her son, who loved her to tears.
Camus studied at Algiers Lycee from 1923-32, then at the University of Algiers, from where he graduated in 1936 with a degree in philosophy. While a student he joined the French Communist Party in 1934, but in 1936 he joined the 'Le Parti du Peuple Algerien' and was denounced by communists as 'Trotskyite'. He was seriously influenced by the writings of 'Andre Malraux', 'Andre Gide' and Plotinus' theory of the "One", which became Camus' graduation thesis (1936).
He was rejected from the French army because of tuberculosis, which he contracted in the 1930's. His first marriage to Simone Hie, a morphine addict, ended due to infidelity from both of them. In 1940 Camus married a pianist and mathematician Francine Faure, whom he loved and patiently tolerated her affair with the actress María Casares. Camus and Francine Faure had twins born in 1945.
During the Second World War Camus was a writer for 'Paris-Soir' magazine. He was in Paris during the Wermacht occupation, and witnessed the execution of the French communist and anti-fascist activist Gabriel Peri by firearm, which turned Camus' mind against Nazi Germany. He moved to Bordeaux, where he finished his early works, 'The Stranger' and 'The Myth of Sisyphus', which opens with his famous statement about the philosophical question of suicide, and deals with the absurdity of existence in the meaningless struggle.
Camus joined the French Resistance cell 'Combat' and edited the eponymous paper under the pseudonym 'Beauchard'. He reported on the fighting when Allies liberated Paris in 1944. Camus continued his work for 'Combat' until 1947, and through this work he became acquainted with Jean-Paul Sartre. For a couple of years Camus was a member of Sartre's circle at the Cafe de Flore on the Boulevard St. Germain, but Camus' criticism of communist doctrine soon alienated Sartre. He highly regarded Franz Kafka and William Faulkner, whose 'Requiem for a Nun' he adopted into a play.
Camus' lectures about French existentialism brought him on a 3-month tour of the United States and Canada in 1946, where he spoke at several universities. He lectured for 3 months in Brazil, Argentina and Chile in 1949, where he became sick and almost suicidal. The return of his tuberculosis forced Camus into seclusion from 1949-1951. It was during those 2 years that he crystallized his analysis of rebels and revolutions and published 'The Rebel'. The book clearly formulates his rejection of communism as well as any violent activity under various Utopian masks of 'social justice'.
Albert Camus' desire for clarity and meaning in the world that offers nothing, but chaos, resulted in his work on the idea of absurdism. It was incorporated in many of his works from 'The Myth of Sisyphus' (1942), 'The Plaque' (1947), 'The Rebel' (1951), and other works. Camus' ideas resulted from his philosophic analysis of the diverse list of sources from 'Epicurus' to Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, and 'Andre Breton', as well as his own experiences in the war and his studies.
His greatest work 'The Fall' (1956) presents the monologues of a self-proclaimed 'judge penitent' Clamence, whose character alludes to Zarathustra from Friedrich Nietzsche and Grand Inquisitor from the 'Karamasov Brothers' of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Camus challenges the reader with the dilemma of accepting the absurdity of our existence and/or learning how to deal with it as well as with the unpredictable consequences from doing something about it.
Camus was the proponent of the idea of human rights. He resigned from UNESCO in 1952 in protest of the UN acceptance of Spain under 'Edgar Franco 'El General''. He protested against the Soviet crush upon the East Berlin workers in 1953, and against the Soviet repressions in Hungary in 1956. He was a steady supporter of pacifism and was in opposition to capital punishment. In 1957 Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
He was killed in a car accident on January 4, 1960, in the small town of Villeblevin, France, in the car driven by his publisher and close friend Michel Gallimard, who also died in the accident.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Béatrice Romand was born on 16 April 1952 in Birkadem, Alger, Algeria. She is an actress and director, known for Claire's Knee (1970), A Good Marriage (1982) and Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre (1967).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Louis Mercier was born on 7 March 1901 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He was an actor, known for Bulldog Drummond's Bride (1939), Jewels of Brandenburg (1947) and Tiger Rose (1929). He was married to Ann Helen Doran. He died on 25 March 1993 in Pasadena, California, USA.- Actor
- Producer
Samir Guemriche was born on December 8, 1993 in Algeria. He spent part of his early life there before embarking on his journey to pursue an acting career. He is a multilingual actor and commercial model who began his career in 2018 by participating in his first film festival as an actor. since then, he has appeared in numerous major commercials, music videos, television series and films.- Actor
- Director
Pierre Blanchar was born on 30 June 1892 in Philippeville, Constantine, France [now Skikda, Algeria]. He was an actor and director, known for Crime and Punishment (1935), The Man from Nowhere (1937) and Life Dances On (1937). He was married to Marthe Vinot. He died on 21 November 1963 in Suresnes, France.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Roger Hanin was born on 20 October 1925 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He was an actor and writer, known for Navarro (1989), Hell Train (1985) and Le protecteur (1974). He was married to Christine Gouze-Rénal and Lisette Barucq. He died on 11 February 2015 in Paris, France.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Guy Gilles was born on 25 August 1938 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He was a director and writer, known for Absences répétées (1972), Le clair de terre (1970) and Au pan coupé (1967). He died on 3 February 1996 in Paris, France.- Adryen Mehdi was born on 24 November 1986 in Algeria. He is an actor, known for Berlin (2023), Vis a vis (2015) and I'm Off Then (2015).
- Brahim Hadjadj began with the film "The Battle of Algiers" (1966), directed by the Italian Gillo Pontecorvo. The 32-year-old actor plays the leading role, that of the Algerian revolutionary hero Ali Ammar (1930-1957), known under the pseudonym "Ali La Pointe". The film received several awards and nominations including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1966, Pontecorvo received the Oscar for best director in 1979.
The success of "The Battle of Algiers" is global, and Brahim Hadjadj becomes the radiant face of Algeria and the country's number one actor. In the minds of all Algerians he becomes "Ali La Pointe", in a film which exposes to the world the abuses of the French colonial army under the cover of "pacification campaigns", previously censored by the French media. Brahim Hadjadj becomes in the middle of the sixties, the rebel hero, glamorous icon of an entire youth who believes that a more egalitarian world is possible. Around the attribution of the role of Ali La Pointe to Brahim Hadjadj, there is a whole mythology, some say that the director Gillo Pontecorvo sitting at the terrace of the Tantonville café in Algiers, saw Hadjadj passing by by chance and offered him the role. Wild casting or not, Gillo Pontecorvo found the naturalness, spontaneity and grace he was looking for in Brahim, for his reality cinema film which he wanted to be as close as possible to a documentary.
Brahim Hadjadj goes from shadow to light after "The Battle of Algiers", without any dramatic training and a basic level of school studies, neither prepared nor supervised, he finds himself hounded by the press, bombarded with questions, which according to him, exceeded his cultural level. The actor, overwhelmed by his new status, still lives as before, day by day. Gillo Pontecorvo, thought of him to play the role of the anticolonial revolutionary José Dolores in his new film "Queimada" (1969). Brahim Hadjadj, then without an agent to manage his career and unpunctual, gave rise to serious doubts in the production company which considered him risky for such a substantial project. Brahim Hadjadj unreachable, the production opts for the Colombian actor Evaristo Márquez who shares the poster with the legend Marlon Brando. Brahim continued his career with Luchino Visconti in 1967 in "The Stranger", in 1969 in "L'Opium Et Le Bâton" by Ahmed Rachedi, in the role of Omar, in 1971 in "Patrouille À l'Est" by Amar Laskri, in 1974 Ahmed Rachedi in "The Finger in the Gear", in 1975 Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina in the cult "Chronique Des Années De Braise", in 1986 he is Si Omar in "The Roaring Years of the Twist" by Mahmoud Zemmouri...
In the 90s, in the middle of the dark decade, bomb attacks increased in Algiers and throughout the country, culture was no longer a priority for institutions, and a good number of intellectuals, journalists and artists, threatened, flee the country. The last years of Brahim Hadjadj's life, in the suburbs of the Algerian capital, in the Cherarba district, were difficult. Hadjadj is diagnosed with a brain tumor. While it took time to raise the funds to send him abroad for surgery, he died in Algiers. - Miloud Mourad Benamara was born on 28 October 1977 in Oran, Algeria. He is an actor, known for House of Gucci (2021), Spectre (2015) and Humam (2019).
- Director
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Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French philosopher and one of the most esteemed and bestselling writers in Europe. He is the author of over 30 books, including works of philosophy, fiction, and biography. American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville was a New York Times bestseller (2006). Subsequent books in English are Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism (2008) and, with Michel Houellebecq, Public Enemies: Dueling Writers Take on Each Other and the World (2011). His play, "Hotel Europe," which premiers in Sarajevo on June 27, 2014, and in Paris on September 9, is a cry of alarm about the crisis facing the European project and the dream behind it. Lévy gained renown for his documentary film about the Bosnian conflict, Bosna! (1994). After starting his career as a war reporter for Combat - the legendary newspaper founded by Albert Camus during the Nazi occupation of France - for which he covered the war between Pakistan and India over Bangladesh, Lévy was instrumental in the founding of the New Philosophers group. His 1977 book Barbarism with a Human Face launched an unprecedented controversy over the European left's complicity with totalitarianism. Lévy's cultural commentary, novels and journalism have continued to stir up such excitement that The Guardian noted he is 'accorded the kind of adulation in France that most countries reserve for their rock stars.' Lévy has undertaken several diplomatic missions for the French government. He was appointed by French President Jacques Chirac to head a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan in 2002 in the wake of the war against the Taliban, a war that Lévy supported. He has traveled to the world's most troubled areas. He followed the trail of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan to research his 'investigative novel' Who Killed Daniel Pearl? (2003). His book War, Evil, and the End of History (2004) took him to the sites of what he calls the world's forgotten wars, from Colombia to Sri Lanka. His reportage and commentary from Israel during the 2006 Lebanon war appeared to wide acclaim, in among others, the New York Times Magazine. And after an extensive, clandestine visit to Darfur in 2007, he reported on the ethnic cleansing and genocide there for Le Monde and for The New Republic. His first-hand account of the fall of Moammar Gaddafi in Libya appeared in the form of a writer's journal and a documentary film (The Oath of Tobruk, which debuted at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival). His new book "The Genius of Judaism", published in France this year, in February, is very successful. Since many months, Bernard-Henri Lévy is a strong support of the Kurdish cause in Irak against ISIS and he is working also on a film about the "Peshmergas", the Kurdish fighters in Iraq. His film Peshmerga (2016) has been added to the Cannes Film Festival in may 2016.- Producer
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Alexandre Arcady was born on 17 March 1947 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is a producer and writer, known for 24 Days (2014), What the Day Owes the Night (2012) and Dernier été à Tanger (1987).- Actor
- Composer
- Editor
Pierre Cosso was born on 24 September 1961 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is an actor and composer, known for An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), La romana (1988) and Charlemagne (1993).- Anne Alvaro was born on 29 October 1951 in Oran, Algeria, France. She is an actress, known for The Taste of Others (2000), The Clink of Ice (2010) and Last Love (2013).
- France Anglade was born on 17 July 1942 in Constantine, France [now Algeria]. She was an actress, known for Caroline chérie (1968), Highlander (1992) and 24 Hours to Kill (1965). She died on 28 August 2014 in La Verrière, Yvelines, France.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Maurice Bénichou was born on 23 January 1943 in Tlemcen, Algeria. He was an actor, known for Amélie (2001), Caché (2005) and La grande vie (2009). He was married to Geneviève Mnich and Anne Clément. He died on 14 June 2019 in Paris, France.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Vivacious, good-natured and friendly, but also fussy, invading and possessive, all these terms can apply to most of the characters played by Marthe Villalonga, one of the busiest comic actresses in France for five decades. Either the quintessential Jewish mother hen (poor Guy Bedos in "Un éléphant ça trompe énormément" and its sequel "Nous irons tous au paradis"!)or the typical voluble caretaker or else the both pampering and annoying wife of Roger Hanin eternally nagging her macho husband, who on earth can resist her fluency, her energy and her sense of comic effects? At least not this writer, even if it can be deplored that the funny lady partly damaged her reputation in appearing in too many a campy French comedy(?) perpetrated by dunces named Philippe Clair, Michel Gérard, Michel Caputo and the like. Add to these qualities her inimitable "pied-noir" accent(characteristic of those French people who had been living in Algeria for generations) and you will find no other actress on a par with her. She was born in Algeria in 1932, a century after it was conquered by the French troops. In the town where she started her life, Fort de l'Eau (now Bordj el Kifan), one of her grandmothers owned a movie theater, which was premonitory indeed, even if chronologically speaking, the cinema came only third in her career, after the theater and television. Marthe, who has Portuguese blue blood in her veins(amazing given the number of proletarian types she played later on!) was soon attracted to the arts. Already treading the boards at the tender age of six, she also learned the piano very young. In addition, she is a good writer, which she proved in 2003 when "Tout simplement", an excitingly moving document about the everyday lives of these French-Algerian nicknamed "pieds-noirs" was published. After leaving school she enrolled in the Algiers Drama Academy and soon found work in Algerian theaters. She had the opportunity to take part (along with Robert Castel and Lucette Sahuquet) in the "Famille Hernandez" adventure. The play, written by the whole company and supervised by Geneviève Baïlac, opened in Algiers in 1957 to packed houses and great acclaim. It managed to cross the Mediterranean Sea and was also a hit in Paris, where it made French people discover who their "cousins" from Algeria actually were. It was all the more important as the "pieds-noirs" would soon become refugees in Metropolitan France, their "fatherland" maybe but to which they were perfect strangers. Marthe, just like the rest of the cast, decided to stay in France. At first, as she thought her accent was a handicap, she decided to get rid of it. Fortunately, René Simon dissuaded her from doing it. A wise decision since Villalonga's future success is attributable precisely to this characteristic. Since then, Marthe Villalonga has worked hard at making us laugh. Of course some of her films are unworthy of her talent but others will not be forgotten such as "Le Coup de Sirocco", the best film about what it was like to have to flee Algeria and to settle in reluctant France, and her three collaborations with André Téchiné ("Les innocents", "Ma saison préférée" and "Alice et Martin") in which she shows she is a sensitive human being not only a comedian.- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Saint Laurent was the son of senior insurance executive Charles Saint-Laurent and his wife Lucienne Mathieu. The grandparents of both families came from Alsace-Lorraine and fled to North Africa during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. When he was 17, Saint Laurent moved alone to Paris, where he trained as a fashion and stage designer at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture fashion school. Saint Laurent first gained recognition in 1954 when he won first prize from the International Wool Secretariat. Now the then editor-in-chief of "Vogue", Michel de Brunhoff, became aware of his work, and he published numerous designs in the French edition of the fashion magazine that same year.
The response was overwhelming and Saint Laurent got a job as a designer at Christian Dior, where he also received further training. Within a few months he rose to become the second key couturier, alongside Christian Dior as his protege, who was significantly involved in all the innovations. After a heart attack, Christian Dior died on October 24, 1957 and Saint Laurent became his successor as art director at Dior. In 1958 he created his first complete collection for Dior with great success, in which he continued Dior's typical "New Look line". In his 1959 collection, he broke the house's tradition and instead presented a completely new and avant-garde work with American influences, which he christened "Beat-Look". However, the House of Dior did not want to give up its traditional line, which is why Saint Laurent left the Dior company.
In 1960, after many years of exemption, Saint Laurent was drafted into military service. In 1962 he returned to Paris, where, with the help of his friend Pierre Bergé, he opened his own couture house under his own name. In the first year, Saint Laurent took part in the ready-to-wear show in Paris with the continuation of the "Beat Look" collection. He celebrated his international breakthrough as a fashion designer in 1963 with the so-called "Op Art fashion". Colorful costumes in the style of Piet Mondriaan followed in 1965 and the "Zhivago look" emerged in 1966 with the first transparent tops and trench coats. These models were sold within the newly founded "Rive Gauche" line, for which the first boutique was opened in Paris in 1966. Other popularizing impulses from the house of Yves Saint Laurent were a new "nostalgic look" at the end of the 1960s and the "noble farmer's wife look" in trendy colors in the mid-1970s.
At the beginning of the 1980s, Saint Laurent designed bolero and lift boy jackets and his fragrance "Opium" became the most internationally successful perfume alongside "No. 5" by Coco Chanel. He also attracted attention in the 1980s, as in 1967 for "Belle de Jour", with his design for numerous theater and ballet pieces. In 1983, works by Yves Saint Laurent were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He was the first living fashion designer to receive this honor. In 1985 he received the fashion world's highest award, the "Oscar de la mode", for his entire work and was elevated to the Legion of Honor by President François Mitterand. After further successful years in which Yves Saint Laurent was appointed Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1995, he showed the last ready-to-wear collection for the "Rive Gauche" label in October 1998.
In 1999, the company, which over the years also designed men's fashion, furs, jewelry, perfumes and a range of accessories in its haute couture, was acquired by the Italian fashion house Gucci. In the following years, Gucci designer Tom Ford was also one of the leading creative staff at Yves Saint Laurent. He also stepped down as a consultant and designer in 2002.
Yves Saint Laurent died on June 1, 2008 in Paris.- Director
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Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina was born on 26 February 1934 in M'sila, Algeria. He is a director and writer, known for Rih al awras (1966), Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975) and Sandstorm (1982).- Actress
Anne Canovas was born on 25 October 1957 in Algiers, Algeria. She is an actress, known for Eva (2011), Ready to Wear (1994) and The Divorce (2003).- Director
- Writer
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Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche was born in 1966 in Beni Zid, Algeria. He is a director and writer, known for Story of Judas (2015), Bled Number One (2006) and South Terminal (2019).- Actor
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Kade Wise is an Algerian-American actor, singer and writer of Kabyle/Amazigh descent. After immigrating from the Mediterranean coast during a civil war, his family resided in New York for 25 years. He has worked on projects for Fox, Netflix, Showtime and USA with names such as Claire Danes, Taraji P. Henson, Ryan Phillippe, Danny Trejo, Omar Epps and Tom Ellis. He will be producing an 8-episode diversity satire and soon releasing a Rap/Rock EP along with an illustrated crime novel about the dark web during an airborne pandemic. As a cultural sponge of American upbringing, Kade advocates for all minorities to have a voice and inclusion. He is represented by Authentic and Buchwald Talent.- Jean Benguigui was born on 8 April 1944 in Oran, Oran, France [now Algeria]. He is an actor, known for Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), Aïcha (2008) and Ali Baba (2007).
- Orane Demazis was born on 4 September 1894 in Oran, Oran, France [now Algeria]. She was an actress, known for Angele (1934), Marius (1931) and Les Misérables (1934). She died on 25 December 1991 in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.