Ali Ghalem

Born

1943-01-01

Birthplace

Constantine, Algérie

Biography

Ali Ghalem or "Ali Ghanem", born in 1943 in Constantine, is an Algerian director. Son of peasants, he received education in a Koranic school. He went to France in 1965 and worked from factory to construction site. By his own admission, he did not write in French until many years after his arrival, which did not prevent him from writing and directing a first feature film "Mektoub?" in 1970. This first notable essay is an evocation of the life of Algerian workers in France. Five years later, he did it again with “L’Autre France” which once again describes the precarious life of immigrants. His third screenplay did not find a buyer, so he published it in the form of a novel before adapting it for the cinema. “Une Femme pour mon fils” is a comedy, filmed in Algeria, which scratches traditionalist morals. After a long cinematic silence dedicated to writing "The Seven-headed Serpent", he signed "Chacun sa Vie", a project that he matured for years and required three years of filming before seeing the light of day in 2007. This film a sincere, vibrant tribute to North African workers, shows an ordinary emigrant family with its joys and its outbursts of anger, shared between the two cultures upon returning home.