Djamel Bendeddouche

Born

1941-01-01

Died

2022-02-20

Birthplace

Tlemcen, Algeria

Biography

Djamel Bendeddouche (Arabic: جمال بن ددوش), born in 1941 in Tlemcen, Algeria, is a director, screenwriter, and prominent figure in Algerian cinema and television. Djamel Bendeddouche discovered the world of television and cinema at a very young age, just after his teenage years. He was barely 17 when he made his acting debut in 1958-59, starring in the film "Fadila" by Francis Mischkind. This short film depicts the friendship of two children from the Casbah of Algiers during the Algerian War. "Fadila" won the Grand Prix du Cinéma at the Salon de l'enfance in 1959 and was awarded a prize by the National Center for Cinematography (CNC) in France. Djamel Bendeddouche has had a rich career. After his first experience as an actor, he explored other facets of this magical world of culture by moving into radio theater, before joining Algerian national television following the regaining of independence. A few years earlier, he had made his directorial debut as a scriptwriter with Mustapha Badie in 1960, on the then-Radio et Télévision Française (formerly RTF), which became Radio Télévision Algérienne (formerly RTA) after independence. Far from being satisfied with his modest experience, Djamel Bendeddouche went abroad to further his skills and completed a directing internship at the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) in Paris in 1965. Subsequently, having acquired the skills that allowed him to pursue directing, he joined the former RTA, where he directed six short films, including "Sacrifice" and "Kif-kif." Feature films and documentaries such as "The White Bird" (1970), "Take It or Leave It" (1971), "Bureaucracy" (1972), and "The Dinar in Danger" (1973) followed, along with "The Conflict" and "Laboratory," before joining the National Audiovisual Production Company (ENPA), where he produced several educational works. He left RTA in 1975 and directed a series of educational films for the National Pedagogical Institute. He then returned to television, directing numerous programs and music videos, including the superb musical film "The Adventures of Rmimez" in 1986, starring Fawzi Saichi. In the early 1990s, the filmmaker founded his own production company and directed "The Shadow of the Past" (1993) and "The Abduction" (1994). In 2005, he founded a small film school in Algiers. Djamel Bendeddouche, who had furthered his training in France and made a point of training new generations, returned to the forefront in 2007 with his major work, "Arezki the Insubordinate," a film retracing the exploits of an honorary bandit living in the Kabylie region, Arezki El Bachir. His passion for his craft led him to sell his house to make this work, which was so dear to his heart, he confided after the film's release. But his sacrifice was not in vain, and his film, "Arezki the Insubordinate," remains a benchmark work to this day. Produced in 2007 as part of the "Algiers, Capital of Arab Culture" event, "Arezki the Insubordinate" won the "Olivier d'Or" award in 2008 at the eighth edition of the Amazigh Film Festival. Djamel Bendeddouche died on February 20, 2022, at the Franz Fanon Hospital in Blida. He is buried in the Oued Romane cemetery in Algiers.