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1-41 of 41
- 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. - Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Composer chiefly remembered for his symphonic poems -the first of that genre to be written by a Frenchman- and for his opera 'Samson et Dalila'. Notable for his pioneering efforts on behalf of French music, he was also a gifted pianist and organist, and a writer of criticism, poetry, essays, and plays. Of his concerti and symphonies, in which he adapted the virtuosity of Franz Liszt's style to French traditions of harmony and form, his 'Third Symphony' is most often performed.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Yacef Saadi was born on 20 January 1928 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He was an actor and producer, known for The Battle of Algiers (1966), L'Histoire Du Film La Bataille D'Alger (2018) and Gillo - Le donne, i cavalier, l'armi, gli amori (2007). He was married to Baya Boudjema. He died on 10 September 2021 in Algiers, Algeria.- Composer
- Music Department
Ahmed Malek was born on 6 March 1931 in Bordj El Kiffan, Algéria. He was a composer, known for Mughamarat batal (1979), Deux Femmes (1992) and Omar Gatlato (1977). He died on 24 July 2008 in Algiers, Algeria.- Casting Department
- Additional Crew
- Special Effects
Natalie Patterson was born on 9 January 1984 in Carbondale, Illinois, USA. She is known for Tekken (2010), Fire with Fire (2012) and Cleaner (2007). She died on 3 November 2023 in Algiers, Louisiana, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Abderrahmane Amrani, known by the stage name Dahmane el Harrachi is an Algerian musician, pianist, singer-songwriter, of chaâbi music. Considered a great master (sheikh) of chaâbi. He contributed to making this genre of music known by exporting it around the world with his song Ya Rayeh. His son, Kamel El Harrachi, also a chaâbi singer-songwriter, continues to bring his repertoire to life.
An Algerian originally from Djellal in the wilaya of Khenchela, his father settled in Algiers in 1920 and became muezzin at the Great Mosque. After the birth of Dahmane (short for Abderrahmane), the family moved to Belcourt, rue Marey, then settled permanently in El-Harrach. The youngest of a family of eleven children, it is from El Harrach that Dahmane gets his nickname El Harrachi. He started playing the banjo very early, he was influenced by the Chaâbi singer Khelifa Belkacem (died in 1951). At 16, he was already performing the latter's songs. With his school certificate in hand, he became a shoemaker then a tram conductor on the line linking Maison Carrée to Bab El Oued. He is already a banjo virtuoso and many chaâbi singers of the 1940s offer his services such as: Hadj Menouar, Cheïkh Bourahla, Cheïkh Larbi el Annabi, Abdelkader Ouchala and especially Cheikh El Hasnaoui with whom he performs for the first time time at the Café des artistes, rue de Charonne in Paris in 1952
In 1949, he went to mainland France and settled in Lille, then in Marseille and finally in Paris, a city that he practically never left. For years, he performed in North African cafés in cities across France. He performed the chaâbi repertoire accompanied by a banjo. He then discovered the gap between the reality of immigration and the North African repertoire of melhoun written between the 16th and 19th centuries. Author-composer, he adapts chaâbi in his own way by creating a new musical and poetic language. His songs speak of experiences in a sustained manner, understandable by the entire Maghreb community.
He recorded his first record with Pathé Marconi in 1956, during the war of independence. His song was titled behdja bidha ma t'houl (White Algiers will never lose its shine) and also composed the song kifech nennsa biled el khir (How could I forget the land of abundance). An original artist, he modernized the chaâbi and gave the banjo and the mandola a phrasing, harmony and accentuations that are his own and which distinguish him from other chaâbi singers. His repertoire consists of around 500 songs of which he is the author. His incisive lyrics and melodies make him appreciated by the general public. To give more content to his lyrical texts, he very often uses the metaphorical process. His gravelly voice lends itself very well to his repertoire brushing the themes of nostalgia for the country, the sufferings of exile, passion for one's hometown, friendship, family, romantic setbacks, the vicissitudes of life, righteousness, moral rigor while castigating dishonesty, hypocrisy, ingratitude and bad faith.
He spent his entire artistic career in France and received recognition from his peers during the Maghreb Music Festival which was held in the early 1970s in La Villette. Discovered late by the new generation in Algeria, he only performed officially in public in 1974 at the Atlas Hall in Algiers where he was a great success. On Algerian television, he left three recordings and played his own role as a chaâbi singer in a TV film entitled Saha Dahmane (Hi Dahmane) filmed just before his disappearance in a road accident on August 31, 1980 in Aïn Benian.
His artistic journey as a singer is borrowed from his own life experience by translating into his songs, written in the Algerian language, all the variations of immigration.
One of his most famous songs Ya Rayah (O leaving), about emigration, departure, was a great success when it was released in France in 1973. Rachid Taha covered it in 1997. The original song made the around the world and was translated into several languages while keeping the same melody.- Director
- Writer
Paul Barlatier was born in 1880 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Paul was a director and writer, known for L'ampoule brisée (1922), La course à l'amour (1924) and Le gage (1920). Paul died in 1940 in Algiers, Algeria.- Karim Zenasni was born in 1961. He was an actor, known for Nass Mlah City (2002), Barakat! (2006) and Gourbi Palace (2006). He died on 16 February 2006 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Director
- Writer
he is an Algerian director born in Tlemcen, west of Algeria. He studied cinema at the High Institute of Cinematic Studies in Paris "DHEC", then worked as an assistant in France Television, and worked for two great french directors Claude Lelouch and Jean-Paul Sassy. On his return to Algeria, he worked for Algerian radio and television as a director, and he directed some of the television movies. He was famous for his cult movies: Buamama (1985) a historical film about the resistance against the French colonizer, and especially Le Clandestin (1989) a cult comedy in Algeria. He died at the age of 74 years old.- Ahmed Ben Bella was born on 25 December 1916 in Maghnia, Oran, France [now Algeria]. He was married to Zohra Sellami. He died on 11 April 2012 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Mabrouk Ait Amara was born on 1 May 1963 in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria. He was an actor, known for Bab El Oued City (1994) and Normal! (2011). He died on 19 September 2019 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Sid Ali Mazif was born on 16 October 1943 in Algiers, Algeria. Sid Ali was a director and writer, known for Sueur noire (1971), Leïla et les autres (1977) and Les nomades (1976). Sid Ali died on 2 May 2023 in Algiers, Algeria.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Abderrahmane Bouguermouh was born on 25 February 1936 in Ouzellaguen, Algeria. He was a director and writer, known for Cri de pierre (1987), The Forgotten Hill (1997) and L'enfer à dix ans (1968). He died on 3 February 2013 in Algiers, Algeria.- Djamel Amrani was born on 29 August 1935 in Sour El-Ghozlane, Algeria. He died on 2 March 2005 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Doudja Abdoun was born on 23 January 1923 in Algiers, Algeria. She was an actress, known for Hassan Taxi (1982), Louss, warda al-rimal (1989) and Automne... Octobre à Alger (1993). She died on 10 October 2008 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Director
- Writer
Amar Laskri, born in Aïn Berda (Algeria) and died May 1, 2015 in Algiers, is an Algerian filmmaker.
He studied theatre, radio, television and cinema in Belgrade between 1962 and 19662. After three short films, he contributed, by directing an episode, to the collective fiction film L'Enfer (1968 at ten years old) . He directed the Algerian Center for Art and the Cinematographic Industry (CAAIC) from 1996 to 1998, the year of its dissolution.
One of his most famous films, described as "unbeatable" by El Watan, is "Patrol in the East". A scene from this film has even become "cult", taken up multiple times on the internet: it shows a lookout who shouts "Yaou Alikoum Men Guelma" to alert the fighters of the National Liberation Army, a cry echoed by the lookouts.
He declared in 2011 that he was considering making a film on Frantz Fanon, but he hesitated between choosing a fictional form (which would compromise the distribution of the film, Algeria having few cinemas) and a documentary which could television. The film remained in draft form.
When he died, the daily El Watan described him as "the figurehead of Algerian cinema." His work is marked by the theme of the Algerian War.- Editor
- Writer
- Director
Yamina Bachir was born on 20 March 1954 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. She was an editor and writer, known for Rachida (2002), Hier... aujourd'hui et demain (2010) and The Citadel (1988). She was married to Mohamed Chouikh. She died on 3 April 2022 in Algiers, Algeria.- Jean Sénac, born in Béni-Saf in Algeria, is originally from Catalonia, his maternal grandfather, Juan Comma, came to Algeria to work in the Béni-Saf iron mine. Jean Sénac, who did not know his father, perhaps a gypsy, bore the name of his mother, Jeanne Comma (1887-1965), until the age of five and his recognition by Edmond Sénac. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Saint-Eugène, a working-class district of Oran. Demobilized in March 1946, Jean Sénac found work as a secretary in a business house in Belcourt, staying with cousins in Bab El Oued. In June 1946 he founded the Lélian artistic and literary circle of which he was president. The same year he met Emmanuel Roblès, the sculptor André Greck, the architect and painter Jean de Maisonseul, and in 1947 Sauveur Galliéro, Louis Nallard, Maria Manton, Louis Bénisti on whom he published articles in " Republican Oran". In October 1952, he resumed his activity as a radio broadcaster. Bringing together in its editorial committee Mohammed Dib, Sauveur Galliéro, Jean de Maisonseul, Mouloud Mammeri, Albert Memmi and Louis Nallard. In the midst of the Arabization of the country, culture and language, the manifesto of Sénac (to whom Algerian literature in French writing is largely indebted for a work of updating and theorization, which did not exist ) appears as a final provocation for which its author will pay dearly: little by little, almost all doors close, not those of people, but of state organizations without which nothing is possible in a country living under the sign of statism. This manifesto calls for a Mediterranean, united, socialist, egalitarian, Arab, Berber and pied-noir Algeria, with Arabic, Berber and French scripts. Kateb Yacine then said nothing else (in Les Lettres françaises, 1963): "There is no Berber Algeria, there is no Arab Algeria, there is no French Algeria : there is an Algeria. It is a very rich nation to the extent that it is multinational." "Algerian poet of French writing", as he defined himself, died murdered in his cellar-lookout in Algiers, on the night of August 29 to 30, 1973. Jean Sénac was the first martyr in a horrible list . The French did not forgive him for having been a member of the F.L.N. during the War of Independence; and the Algerian government had difficulty supporting its very critical positions with regard to the bureaucratic system in place. Jean Sénac was a completely undesirable man. His audience with young people, his life, his homosexuality, his freedom of speech in political or cultural matters, the repercussions abroad of his judgments on Algeria, made him an embarrassing character for many people. There are therefore many people who could benefit from crime. Jean Sénac felt this death lurking: Why follow this trail - everything is concluded in advance - when you wash my face - the sun will no longer be there.
- Actor
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mohamed Bouamari was born in 1941 in Sétif, Constantine, France [now Algeria]. He was an actor and director, known for First Step (1980), El faham (1973) and L'héritage (1975). He died on 1 December 2006 in Algiers, Algeria.- Jean-Jacques Deluz was born on 8 April 1930 in Lausanne, Switzerland. He died on 30 April 2009 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Jean Darlan was born on 7 August 1881 in Nérac, Lot-et-Garonne, France. He died on 24 December 1942 in Algiers, French Algeria [now Algeria].
- Khaled Nezzar was born on 25 December 1937 in Seriana, Batna, Algeria. He died on 29 December 2023 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Cherifa was born on 9 January 1926 in Akbou, Algeria. She died on 13 March 2014 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Rédha Malek died on 29 July 2007 in Algiers, Algeria.
- Farid Kessaissia was born on 24 July 1963 in Algiers, Algeria. He was an actor, known for Automne... Octobre à Alger (1993), Nass Mlah City (2002) and The Casbah of Algiers (1993). He died on 12 July 2021 in Algiers, Algeria.