Top 100 African Directors
Directors from Egypt (30), South Africa (14), Algeria (10), Morocco (9), Senegal (8), Tunisia (6), Ivory Coast (3), Nigeria (3), Burkina Faso (2), Cameroon (2), Ethiopia (2), Ghana (2), Mali (2), Chad, Congo (Zaire), Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sudan and Zambia.
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- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Togo Mizrahi was born on 2 June 1901 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for Doctor Epaminondas (1937), Nureddine wa bahhara el talata (1944) and El sa'a saba (1937). He died on 5 June 1986 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Director
- Editor
- Producer
Born in South Africa, Henry Cornelius traveled to Europe, where he worked as an actor and director in stage productions in Germany, France and England. In 1933, with the Nazi takeover of Germany, Cornelius left Germany for France, and studied at the Sorbonne. He hooked up with director René Clair and went to England with Clair for The Ghost Goes West (1935) as an assistant editor. He worked his way up the ranks to editor and returned to South Africa, writing documentaries and producing and directing films there. After the end of World War II he went back to England, working as an associate producer and writer. He made his directorial debut with Passport to Pimlico (1949), a well-received comedy from Ealing about a neighborhood in London that, after the war, discovers that it is really not a part of England, and declares its independence. He was also responsible for the delightful Genevieve (1953), a charming comedy about an auto club's annual race between Brighton and London.
Cornelius only directed two more films before his death, at age 44, in London in 1958.- Director
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Youssef Chahine (born in Alexandria, Egypt, 1926) started studying in a friars' school, and then turned to Victoria College until the High School Certificate. After one year in the University of Alexandria, he moved to the U.S. and spent two years at the Pasadena Play House, taking courses on film and dramatic arts. After coming back to Egypt, cinematographer Alevise Orfanelli helped him into the film business. His film debut was Baba Amin (1950): one year later, with Son of the Nile (1951) he was first invited to the Cannes Film festival. In 1970, he was awarded a Golden Tanit at the Carthage Festival. With Le moineau (1973), he directed the first Egypt-Algeria co-production. He won a Silver Bear in Berlin for Alexandria... Why? (1979), the first installment in what proved to be an autobiographic trilogy, completed with Hadduta Masriya (1982)(An Egyptian Story (1982)) and Alexandria: Again and Forever (1989).
In 1992, Jacques Lassalle proposed him to stage a piece of his choice for Comédie Française: Chahine chose to adapt Albert Camus' "Caligula," which proved hugely successful. The same year he started writing Al-mohager (1994), a story inspired by the Biblical character of Joseph, son of Jacob. This had long been a dream-project, and he finally got to shoot it in 1994. In 1997, 46 years and 5 invitations later, he was again selected Hors Competition in Cannes with Destiny (1997).- Director
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- Producer
Henry Barakat was born on 11 June 1914 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for El bab el maftuh (1963), Hasan wa Naimah (1959) and Leilet al quabd al Fatma (1984). He died on 27 May 1997 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Fatin Abdulwahhab was born in 1913 in Dumyat, Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for The 13th Wife (1962), Tarid el firdaos (1965) and Son of Hamido (1957). He was married to Laila Mourad, Hagar Hamdi, Tahiyyah Karyuka and Munira Fathi. He died in 1972 in Beirut, Lebanon.- Director
- Editor
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Kamal El-Shaikh was born on 2 February 1919 in Egypt. He was a director and editor, known for El shaitane el saghir (1963), Chased by the Dogs (1962) and El-Lailah el-Akhirah (1963). He died on 2 January 2004 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Atef Salem was born on 23 July 1927 in Sudan. He was a director and assistant director, known for Khan el khalili (1967), Nahna el talamiza (1959) and El hermane (1953). He was married to Nabila Ebeid. He died on 30 July 2002 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Mohamed Abderrahman Tazi is known for À la recherche du mari de ma femme (1992), Badis (1989) and Fatema, La Sultane Inoubliable (2022).Director of Sitta Wa Thaniat'Ashar (1968)- Cinematographer
Abdelmajid R'Chich is known for Les trésors de l'Atlas (1997).Director of Sitta Wa Thaniat'Ashar (1968)- Art Director
- Writer
- Set Decorator
Chadi Abdel Salam was born on 9 March 1930 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was an art director and writer, known for The Mummy (1969), El Fetewa (1957) and Zaman el ajab (1952). He died on 9 October 1986 in Cairo, Egypt.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Mohamed Zinet was born on 16 January 1932 in Algiers, Algeria. He was an actor and director, known for Tahia ya didou! (1971), Madame Rosa (1977) and Le bougnoul (1975). He was married to Anne Papillault. He died on 10 April 1995 in Bondy, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.- Director
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- Actor
The director of seven shorts and seven full-length feature films, Saleh graduated in 1949 in English literature and was trained in cinema in Paris until 1951. Tewfik Saleh's oeuvre is the only one in Egyptian cinema which may be considered purely "Third Worldist". All his films deal with social injustice, underdevelopment, political abuse and the class struggle.
His first film, Darb al-mahabil (1955), co-written by Naguib Mahfouz, was set in a popular neighborhood but represented a kind of allegory of greed and materialism, dismantling the opportunism of the alley's inhabitants who chase a mentally retarded homeless person after they learn he has won the lottery. It took Saleh another seven years to direct his Sira' al-abtal (1962), set during the cholera epidemic of the 1930s. It featured Shukri Sarhan as a leftist country doctor who battles not only against the disease, but also against the peasant's ignorance, the midwife's intrigues and the egocentric interests of the feudal landowner.
Saleh's next films were produced by the General Film Organization. His Yaumiyat na'ib fi-l-aryaf (1969), taken from 'Taufiq al-Hakim''s novel, counts among the best adaptations. Yet he often came up against censorship and bureaucracy. Al-moutamarridoune (1968) and Al-sayyid bulti (1969) (in English: "Mister Fish"), both had to wait two years until their release. In the case of "Mister Fish", which deals with the struggle of working fishermen against a monopolist, the censor used a scene of two young women occupied with removing the hair from their legs to postpone the release of the film.
Finally, in the early 70s, Saleh left the country. His The Dupes (1972), produced by the Syrian National Film Organization and adapted from Ghassan Kanafani's novel "Men Under the Sun", was one of the first Arab films to move away from a melodramatic approach to the Palestinian question and to express scepticism regarding regarding pan-Arab solidarity. Saleh's last feature Al-ayyam al-tawila (1980) was produced by the Iraqi Theatre and Film Organization, and presented _Saddam Hussein_ as a patriotic guerilla. Saleh, who had moved to Iraq in 1973 in order to teach cinema, returned to Egypt in the mid-1980s to teach at the Higher Film Institute.- Director
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- Actor
Born the son of a Muslim cleric in Colobane, near Dakar, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty received no formal training in filmmaking. He experimented with theater, but in 1968, he was asked to leave an avant-garde theater group. Shortly thereafter, he made his first film short called Badou Boy (1970), which dealt with the life of a young renegade. By 1973, he directed his first feature, Touki Bouki (1973), about disaffected youth, and it became an instant classic. It would be nearly twenty years before he would create another film, Hyenas (1992), which is considered a sequel to "Touki Bouki" and a parable based on the classic play "The Visit" by Frederich Durrenmatt. Although his films were considered to be politically oriented, Mambéty rejected the realism preferred by most African filmmakers. His films were notable for their dream-like quality that left the themes of his films entirely to the interpretation of the viewer; this was, of course, the desired effect. In spite of the fact that Mambéty only completed a few short films and a meager two full-length features, the quality of his short body of work has rendered him legendary status among African filmmakers and, indeed, the international film community.- Director
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Ola Balogun was born in 1945 in Aba, Nigeria. He is a director and writer, known for A Deusa Negra (1979), Ija Ominira (1979) and Cry Freedom! (1981).- Director
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Mostafa Derkaoui is known for Cinders of the Vineyard (1976), Hmida Ejayeh (2023) and Titre provisoire (1984).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
The first film director from an African country to achieve international recognition, Ousmane Sembene remains the major figure in the rise of an independent post-colonial African cinema. Sembene's roots were not, as might be expected, in the educated élite. After working as a mechanic and bricklayer, he joined the Free French forces in 1942, serving in Africa and France. In 1946, he returned to Dakar, where he participated in the great railway strike of 1947. The next year he returned to France, where he worked in a Citröen factory in Paris, and then, for ten years, on the dock in Marseilles. During this time Sembene became very active in trade union struggles and began an extraordinarily successful writing career. His first novel, "Le Docker Noir", was published in 1956 to critical acclaim. Since then, he has produced a number of works which have placed him in the foreground of the international literary scene. Long an avid filmgoer, Sembene became aware that to reach a mass audience of workers and preliterate Africans outside urban centers, cinema was a more effective vehicle than the written word. In 1961, he traveled to Moscow to study film at VGIK and then to work at the Gorky Studios. Upon his return to Senegal, Sembene turned his attention to filmmaking and, after two short films, he wrote and directed his first feature, Black Girl (1966)(english title: Black Girl). Received with great enthusiasm at a number of international film festivals, it also won the prestigious Jean Vigo Prize for its director. Shot in a simple, quasi-documentary style probably influenced by the French New Wave, BLACK GIRL tells the tragic story of a young Senegalese woman working as a maid for an affluent French family on the Riviera, focusing on her sense of isolation and growing despair. Her country may have been "decolonized," but she is still a colonial -- a non-person in the colonizers' world. Sembene's next film, Mandabi (1968) (english title: The Money Order), marked a sharp departure. Based on his novel of the same name and shot in color in two language versions--French and Wolof, the main dialect of Senegal--THE MONEY ORDER is a trenchant and often delightfully witty satire of the new bourgeoisie, torn between outmoded patriarchal traditions and an uncaring, rapacious and inefficient bureaucracy. Emitai (1971) records the struggle of the Diola people of the Casamance region of Senegal (where Sembene grew up) against the French authorities during WWII. Shot in Diola dialect and French from an original script, EMITAI offers a respectful but unromanticized depiction of an ancient tribal culture, while highlighting the role of women in the struggle against colonialist oppression. In Xala (1975), Sembene again takes on the native bourgeoisie, this time in the person of a rich, partially Westernized Moslem businessman afflicted by "xala" (impotence) on the night of his wedding to a much younger third wife. Outsiders (1977), considered by many to be Sembene's masterpiece, departs from the director's customary realist approach, documenting the struggle over the last centuries of an unspecified African society against the incursions of Islam and European colonialism. Featuring a strong female central character, CEDDO is a powerful evocation of the African experience.- Director
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Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa was born in 1940 in Cameroon. He is a director and actor, known for The Child of Another (1975), Le prix de la liberté (1978) and Badiaga (1987).- Composer
- Director
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Djouhra Abouda is known for Ali au pays des merveilles (1975), La montagne de Baya (1997) and Cinéma 16 (1975).- Director
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ali Badr Khan was born in 1946 in Cairo, Egypt. He is a director and writer, known for Shafika and Metwali (1981), Al-raii wa al nesaa (1991) and Al-gough (1986). He was previously married to Suad Husni.- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Safi Faye was born on 22 November 1943 in Dakar, Senegal. She was a director and writer, known for Mossane (1996), Fad'jal (1979) and Letter from My Village (1976). She died on 22 February 2023 in Paris, France.- Director
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Salah Abouseif was born on 10 May 1915 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a director and writer, known for El Fetewa (1957), The Monster (1954) and Mughamarat Antar wa Abla (1948). He died on 23 June 1996 in Cairo, Egypt.- Actor
- Director
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Med Hondo was born on 4 May 1935 in Aïn-Béni-Mathar, Morocco. He was an actor and director, known for Sarraounia (1986), Oh, Sun (1970) and Arabs and Niggers, Your Neighbours (1974). He died on 2 March 2019 in Paris, France.- Editor
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- Director
Ahmed Bouanani was born on 16 November 1938 in Casablanca, Morocco. He was an editor and writer, known for Assarab (1979), Bye-Bye Souirty (1998) and Aoud rih (2001). He died on 6 February 2011 in Demnate, Morocco.- Director
- Writer
Farouk Beloufa was born on 9 April 1947 in Oued Fodda, Algeria. He was a director and writer, known for Nahla (1979), Return of the Prodigal Son (1978) and Le Silence Du Sphinx (2010). He died on 9 April 2018 in Paris, France.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Hussein Kamal was born on 17 August 1934 in Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Imberaturiyyat Mim (1972), Al-boustaguy (1968) and Away from Land (1976). He died on 24 March 2003 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
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- Producer
Jamie Uys was an internationally acclaimed film director who completed 24 films. Prizes for his work included the 1981 Grand Prix at the Festival International du Film de Comedy Vevey for 'The Gods Must be Crazy' and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association award for best documentary in 1974 for 'Beautiful People' aka 'Animals are Beautiful People'. 'The Gods Must be Crazy' enjoyed three years of uninterrupted screening in the United States.- Director
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- Producer
Ibrahim Shaddad is a writer, theater and film director. He studied film production in Germany at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf (at that time Academy for Film and Television of the GDR), worked in Germany, Egypt and predominantly in Sudan. Most of his theatrical and cinematic work has been banned by different regimes in Sudan. Some of his films have won awards in international film festivals.- Director
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Kabore started out as a history student at the Centre d'Etudes Superieures d'Histoire d'Ouagadougou and continued his studies in Paris where he received an MA. During his studies he became interested in how Africa was portrayed abroad, which then led him, in 1974, to study cinematography at the Ecole Superieure d'Etudes Cinematographiques. Further inspiration came upon viewing Ousmane Sembene's Xala, which he saw as an example of how film could be used to express African culture. After returning to Africa, Kabore was made director of the Centre National du Cinema and taught at the Institut African d'Education Cinematographique. Along with students under his direction there he made his first film, 'Je Reviens De Bokin' (I Come From Bokin).
Kabore went on to produce practical documentaries such as 1978's, 'Stockez et conservez les grains' (Store and Conserve the Grain), which focused on agrarian concerns. Another kind of documentary he made in this early period, 'Regard sur le VI'eme FESPACO' (A Look at the 6th FESPACO) evidenced his concern for and promotion of African film. Kabore's first feature, Wend Kuuni (1982) was a breakthrough for African cinema notable for the way it translated African oral tradition to the screen. Next, Kabore returned to address the issues surrounding African cinema with a documentary, 'Props sur le cinema' (Reflections on the cinema) (1986). The short film featured two significant African directors, 'Souleymane Cisse' from Mali and Mauritania born Med Hondo discussing the problems facing filmmakers on the continent. He followed this with his second feature, Zan Boko (1988) which tells the story of a wealthy businessman who takes away ancestral land from a poor village peasant in order to build a swimming pool. The film focuses not only on the conflict of class struggle but also that of tradition and modernity in postcolonial civilization.
Before his next feature Kabore again returned with a short documentary, Madame Hado (1991), about Mrs. Hado, a celebrated Burkinabe singer and dancer. Kabore was then invited to contribute to the BBC's 'Developing Stories', a series of six films by talented filmmakers from the developing world focusing on environmental and developmental issues. He offered _Rabi (1993)_, which won the first prize for young people's films at the Okomedia International Ecological Film Festival. Another mark of Kabore's international recognition was his participation in the film, Lumière and Company (1995) in which 40 directors from around the world were asked to make a short film with the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumiere Brothers. His most recent feature Buud Yam (1997) was the 1997 grand-prize winner of the FESPACO.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
Atef El-Tayeb was born on 26 December 1947. He was a director and assistant director, known for Leila Sakhina (1995), Gallipoli (1981) and El-Zammar (1985). He died on 23 June 1995.- Director
- Writer
Ababacar Samb-Makharam was born on 21 October 1934 in Dakar, Senegal. He was a director and writer, known for Kodou (1971), Et la neige n'était plus... (1966) and Jom (1982). He died on 7 October 1987 in Dakar, Senegal.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Mohammad Fadel is known for Hubb fi el-Zinzanah (1983), El-Share'a El-Gedid (1997) and Nasser 56 (1996).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Ahmed Yehia was born in 1944 in Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Lailah Baka fiha el-Qamar (1980), Hubb la Yara el-Shams (1980) and As Not to Fly the Smoke (1984). He died on 7 February 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Désiré Ecaré was born on 15 April 1939 in Treicheville, Ivory Coast. She is a director and writer, known for Visages de femmes (1985), À nous deux, France! (1970) and Concerto pour un exil (1968).- Director
- Actor
Ali Abdel-Khalek was born on 9 June 1944 in Cairo , Egypt. He was a director and actor, known for Shader al-samak (1986), Idam Mayyet (1985) and Gary el-Wuhoosh (1987). He died on 2 September 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Ghana born John Akomfrah is known for his experimental documentaries and video installations on the subjects of race, migration, and slavery in the encounters between European colonisers and African subjects.In the 1980s working in London, he helped found the Black Audio Film Collective and later set up the Smoking Dogs production company. His cinematic influences include Carl Dreyer and Sergei Eisenstein.- Director
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- Camera and Electrical Department
Born in 1945 in San (in Ségou, the 4th region of Mali). Has studied filmmaking at the Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière (National School Louis Lumière), Paris. Worked as filmaker at the Centre National de Production Cinématographique (CNPC) in Mali, when he returned. Has created, with other young Malians, a collective production company: Kora Films.- Director
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- Producer
Souleymane Cissé was born on 21 April 1940 in Bamako, Mali. He is a director and writer, known for Yeelen (1987), Baara (1978) and The Wind (1982).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Thierno Faty Sow was born on 23 December 1941 in Thiès, Senegal. He was a director and actor, known for Camp de Thiaroye (1988), L'option (1974) and L'oeil (1981). He died on 6 November 2009 in Dakar, Senegal.- Director
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- Actor
The director Mohamed Khan was born on October 26th 1942. He completed his high school in Egypt, then traveled to England where he earned his diploma in 1962. He directed several movies in 8mm. He went back to Egypt in 1963 & worked as script writer in a Cairo production company. Worked in Lebanon for few years as an assistant director, then went to live in England from 1970 till 1978 & there wrote his book "Introduction to the Egyptian Cinema" in English. He lives in Egypt now & has one daughter (Nadin) & one son (Hassan). He's one of the best known directors in the Egyptian Cinema.- Director
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- Producer
Idrissa Ouedraogo was born on 21 January 1954 in Banfora, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso]. He was a director and writer, known for Yaaba (1989), The Law (1990) and Samba Traoré (1992). He died on 18 February 2018 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Férid Boughedir was born in 1944 in Hammam-Lif, French Protectorate of Tunisia [now Tunisia]. He is a director and writer, known for Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990), Sweet Smell of Spring (2016) and A Summer in La Goulette (1996).- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daoud Abdel Sayed was born on 23 November 1946 in Egypt. He is a director and writer, known for Land of Fear (1999), Messages from the Sea (2010) and Mowaten we mokhber we haramy (2001).- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Yousry Nasrallah was born on 26 July 1952 in Cairo, Egypt. He is a director and writer, known for El Medina (1999), Sarikat Sayfeya (1988) and Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story (2009).- Inaam Mohamed Ali is known for Al-Tareek Ela Eilat (1993), Om Kulthum (1999) and Nona El Shanona (1994).
- Actor
- Director
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Regardt van den Bergh is known for Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer (2009), Uitvlucht (2015) and Faith Like Potatoes (2006).- Editor
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Was raised in Tunisia in a tradition-oriented family. It was in high school, thanks to her philosophy teacher, who ran a film club, that she developed a taste for the cinema. After graduating from the IDHEC film school in 1968, in the editing department, she went back to live in Tunisia in 1972. Her name appears on the credits of some of the most important Arab film from 1970 to 1990.- Ahmed Badr Eddine is known for Rehlat Al Million (1984), Bakiza Wa Zaghloul (1986) and Wanees's Diaries (1994).
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- Actress
Katinka Heyns is known for Babbelkous (1974), Eendag op 'n Reëndag (1975) and Die Storie van Klara Viljee (1992).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Radwan El-Kashef was born on 6 August 1952 in Cairo, Egypt. He was a director and assistant director, known for Date Wine (1998), Lieah ya banafsieg (1993) and Al-saher (2001). He died on 5 June 2002 in Cairo, Egypt.- Director
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- Actor
Born in 1958 in Sénégal, Moussa Touré starts working early for the cinema. Debuting as a technician he soon turns to direction, with a first short in 1987 and a first feature in 1991, the multi-awarded Toubab Bi (1991). As of 1987 he creates his own production firm "Les Films du Crocodile" through which he funds several documentaries. His next fiction film TGV (1998) is the talented account of the eventful journey of a rickety bus between Dakar and Conakry. In 2002 Touré sets up the "Moussa invite" Film Festival in Rufisque, Sénégal, a showcase for African documentaries made by Africans. His most recent achievement is The Pirogue (2012), a striking semi-documentary movie, brilliantly filmed and edited with the efficiency of a Hollywood blockbuster.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Osama Fawzy is an Egyptian film director; he has been working in the film industry for 40 years. Fawzy was graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinema in 1984. He worked as an assistant director since 1978, when he worked with a large number of prominent Egyptian directors including Hussein Kamal, Niazi Mustafa, Barakat, Ashraf Fahmy, Yousry Nasrallah and Radwan Al Kashef Fawzi is very well known for his controversial films, in 1996 he directed his first feature film the asphalt demons, written by Mostafa Zekri. The film was officialy selected in tens of international film festivals and won the Swissair/Crossair Special Prize in Locarno International film festival and nominated to the Golden Motogolfiere in Nantes Three Continents Festival and won the best director and other 3 awards in Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema. In 1999, Fawzy directed his second feature film The Fallen Angels Paradise, written by mostafa Zekri, the film was officially selected in more than 10 film festival including Locarno International film festival and won the best film awards in Cairo International Film Festival and Alexandria International Film Festival along with other 17 awards. In 2004, he directed I Love The Cinema, which revolves around the life of a Christian family, a religiously Orthodox husband and a Protestant wife, a child and a girl. The film presents the social problems facing this family because of the husband's view of religion. The film provoked the public, which made some lawyers, and Christian clerics filing a lawsuit demanding to shutdown the screening of the film because of its ridicule of Christianity. The film was selected in many film festivals and won several awards including the Best Director award in Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema. In 2009, he directed In Natural Colors, about a student in the College of Fine Arts, who became an artist despite his family's wishes for him to become a doctor. During his journey, he is faced with opposing views between ultra religious fundamentalists condemning his art, and those of the opposite far left. He ends up battling his inner demons to find an answer to his burning questions.- Director
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Nabil Ayouch works and lives in Casablanca and is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, the Académie des Césars and the Arab Film Academy. Nabil Ayouch is a director, writer, producer and is the founder of Ali n' Production, the main film and TV shows production company in Morocco.
In 1997, Nabil Ayouch directed his first feature film, Mektoub (1997) which, like Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets (2000) represented Morocco at the Oscars. Next came Une minute de soleil en moins (2002) and Whatever Lola Wants (2007), produced by Pathé.
After directing several live shows such as the opening of Morocco Time in France at the Château de Versailles in 1999, he conceived and staged the closing show of the World Economic Forum in Davos later in 2009.
In 2011, he directed his first feature-length documentary, My Land (2011) which he shot in the Middle East. In 2012, he made Horses of God (2012). The film, based on the May 16, 2003, bombings in Casablanca, was selected in the official selection - Un Certain Regard, at the Cannes Film Festival and received the François Chalais Award. It represented Morocco at the Oscars and won 26 international awards.
In May 2015, his next film Much Loved (2015) was selected at the Cannes Film Festival, at the Directors' Fortnight. In September, it won the Valois d'Or and the Valois for Best Actress at Angoulême. Banned in Morocco, "Much Loved" was released in about twenty countries and was acquired by Netflix for the US and several other countries. It collected 12 international awards and reached 280,000 admissions in France, the biggest success ever for a Moroccan film.
In 2016, Nabil Ayouch made Razzia (2017). The film, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, won a dozen international awards. It was widely sold around the world, including in the US where it was distributed by Amazon.
In 2019, Nabil Ayouch produced the film Adam (2019), first feature film by Maryam Touzani, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard). The film, sold in 20 countries, won 23 awards and was both a public and critical success.
In 2021, Nabil Ayouch directed Casablanca Beats (2021). The film, which deals with the youth of the suburbs of Casablanca and with Hip Hop as a means of expression, was presented in world premiere in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival 2021, the first time for a Moroccan film.
In 2023, he produced The Blue Caftan (2022) by Maryam Touzani. Selected at the Cannes Film Festival - Un Certain Regard, it won the FRIPESCI Prize. The film, representing Morocco at the Oscars, was shortlisted among the 15 best foreign films, the first time ever for Morocco. The film won more than 50 awards around the world. Sold in about thirty territories, it recorded more than 500,000 international admissions, a record for a Moroccan film.
In 2024, Nabil Ayouch will release Everybody Loves Touda (2024) his next film.
Beyond his films, Nabil Ayouch contributes, through Ali n' Productions, which he created in 1999, to energize the Moroccan cinematic landscape by supporting young talents.
Through the creation of the "Film Industry," he produced between 2005 and 2010, 40 genre films, contributing to the creation of a true film industry that would reveal and train talents in all areas of the film industry.
In 2006, he launched the Meda Films Development - with the support of the European Union and the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation - a structure to accompany producers and screenwriters from the ten countries of the southern Mediterranean shore in the development phase of their films.
Very active in the socio-cultural field, Nabil Ayouch opened in 2014 through the Ali Zaoua Foundation - which he created and presides over - the Cultural Center "Les étoiles de Sidi Moumen," intended for young people in the peripheral neighborhood of Sidi Moumen from which the kamikazes who committed the May 16, 2003, bombings in Casablanca and who inspired "Les Chevaux de Dieu" came. To date, more than 1,000 children and teenagers are enrolled and learn all forms of artistic expression. This was followed by a second Cultural Center in Tangier in 2016, a third in Agadir in 2019, a fourth in Fez in 2020, and finally a fifth center in Marrakech in 2021.
In November 2014, the Louvre Museum paid tribute to Nabil Ayouch by offering him a carte blanche for 3 days during which a large part of his work was shown to the Parisian public.
In 2015, Nabil Ayouch exhibited in Paris and Casablanca a series of photographs that explore this part of society "On the margins" that haunts him and crosses his artistic work. In 2022, he signed a second series of photos "Aporia" which was exhibited in Casablanca.A French-Moroccan director.- Actor
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Gavin Hood was born on 12 May 1963 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is an actor and director, known for Official Secrets (2019), Tsotsi (2005) and Eye in the Sky (2015). He was previously married to Janine Eser.- Writer
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- Additional Crew
Mehdi Charef was born on 21 October 1952 in Marnia, Oran, France [now Algeria]. He is a writer and director, known for Tea in the Harem (1985), Au pays des Juliets (1992) and Daughter of Keltoum (2001).- Director
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Farida Benlyazid was born in 1948 in Tanger, Morocco. She is a director and writer, known for Keïd Ensa (1999), The Wretched Life of Juanita Narboni (2005) and Frontieras (2013).- Writer
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Wayne Kramer was born in South Africa, where he graduated from the Johannesburg School for Art, Drama and Music. His feature film debut came in 2003 with "The Cooler," a romantic drama set in Las Vegas and starring William H. Macy as a professional casino jinx and Maria Bello as the cocktail waitress who changes his luck. "The Cooler" was selected for competition in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and opened the 2003 Los Angeles Film Festival. Alec Baldwin received an Oscar® nomination for his portrayal of an old-school casino boss, and won the National Board of Review's Best Supporting Actor award. The Lionsgate release also received Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Online Film Critics award nominations for both Baldwin and Bello. Kramer won the Special Jury Prize at the Cognac Festival du Film Policier. Kramer was nominated for a 2004 Golden Satellite Award and a 2004 Edgar Allan Poe (along with Frank Hannah) for his screenplay to The Cooler, which also received a 2003 Special Mention For Excellence in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review
Wayne followed up "The Cooler" with "Running Scared," a gritty action thriller for New Line Cinema. Paul Walker starred as a New Jersey mob foot soldier who spends a harrowing night chasing down a gun used to kill a dirty cop. The film also starred Vera Farmiga, Chazz Palminteri and Elizabeth Mitchell. "Running Scared" was released in 2006 and has since become a cult favorite among action fans.
Next, Wayne wrote, produced (along with Frank Marshall) and directed "Crossing Over," an ensemble drama about illegal immigration in Los Angeles. The film stars Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Jim Sturgess, Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis, Alice Eve and Alice Braga. "Crossing Over" was released by The Weinstein Company in 2009.
Most recently, Wayne directed the black comedy ensemble "Pawn Shop Chronicles," which was released by Anchor Bay in 2013. The film stars Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Elijah Wood, Thomas Jane, Vincent D'Onofrio and Lukas Haas.
Wayne will next direct the dystopian sci-fi love story "Ecstasia," based on his upcoming novel, with Scott Eastwood attached to star.
Kramer's other credits include the original screenplay for "Mindhunters" (2004), directed by Renny Harlin and released by Dimension Films.- Director
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Oliver Schmitz is an award-winning South African director. He has, with his film Life Above All, been shortlisted for "Best Foreign Film" at the academy awards and received accolades from the likes of Roger Ebert. His 1980s gangster drama Mapantsula has become a classic and is taught in film studies in many universities.
Growing up in Cape Town, Schmitz comes from fine art and music background. With others, from 1981-1983 he ran a cult nightclub (Scratch), that successfully beat Apartheid segregation laws and nurtured a generation of creative and militant youth.
Schmitz has made five movies for cinema, four of which have screened in official selection in Cannes - one being the Parisian omnibus film Paris je t'aime (Place des fetes). Shepherds and butchers with Steve Coogan and Andrea Riseborough premiered at the Berlinale 2016, where it won an audience award and Best Directing at the South African Film and Television Awards.
He lives in Berlin with his wife and daughter and also has an active television career, directing. Credits include; the award-winning comedy series Türkisch für Anfänger and Doctor's Diary, winning respectively, Best Series, at the German Television Awards, the German Comedy Awards, and a prestigious Grimme Prize.- Writer
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Abdellatif Kechiche was born on 7 December 1960 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is a writer and director, known for Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013), Games of Love and Chance (2003) and Poetical Refugee (2000).- Director
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Sherif is an Egyptian director, screenwriter and producer. He graduated from the Higher Institute for Cinema in 1982 and he is the son of director Sa'ad 'Arafa in addition to being an elder brother to director 'Amr 'Arafa. Sherif began his cinema career in 1987 when he directed the film "al-Aqzam Qadimoon" ("The Dwarfs are Coming"), the screenplay for that title was authored by Maher 'Awwad. Thereafter Sherif presented the film "al-Daragah al-Thanniyah" ("The Second Degree") with performers Soa'ad Hosny and Ahmed Zakky but the work was not a success among audiences. The director was the first to notice the talents of many performers who include ( Mohamed Sa'ad - Ahmed Helmy - Mohamed Heneidy - Kareem 'Abd Al 'Azeez - Ahmed Makky - Mahmoud 'Abd Al Ghany - Haitham Ahmed Zakky - 'Alaa Waly al-Deen - Mona Zakky - Nour - Sullaf Fawakhragy - Gamal Suleiman). The large number of talent discoveries attributed to Sherif 'Arafa have indicated that he has a special eye for fledgling performers. The director has worked with major performers from the outset of his career, performers of the likes of Soa'ad Hosny, Ahmed Zakky and 'Adel Imam. He also discovered and presented several of the well known youthful faces in cinema, names such as 'Alaa Waly al-Deen, Mohamed Heneidy, Mona Zakky, Nour, Mohamed Sa'ad, Ahmed Helmy, Haitham Helmy, Ahmed Zakky and many others. Sherif has also produced several cinema and television productions such as the film "Halim" and the television series "Tamer wa Shawqqiyah", "Lahazat Harija" ("Critical Moments") and the program "al-Nas wa Ana" ("The People and Myself") through his private production company Partner Pro. Moreover Sherif has also directed several television commercials for well known products such as Pepsi and Chipsy. Sherif made a forceful entry into the world of television production in 2006 when he produced three works, the two television series "Tamer wa Shawqqiyah" and "Lahazat Hariga" ("Critical Moments") and the program "al-Nas wa Ana" ("The People and Myself"). That last production saw him collaborate with other producers from Egypt and the United States. Sherif 'Arafa has directed several cinema titles that were milestones in the history of Egyptian cinema, titles such as "Teyoor al-Zalam" ("The Birds of Darkness" ), "al-Nazir" ("The Manager"), "Mafia" and "Halim".- Director
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Tariq Teguia was born in 1966 in Algiers, Algeria. He is a director and writer, known for Gabbla (2008), Roma wa la n'touma (2006) and Zanj Revolution (2013).- Director
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Halie Gerima arrived in the United States from his native Gondar, Ethiopia, to study acting and directing at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, Illinois. He later transferred to the Theater Department at UCLA where he completed the Master's Program in Film. Afterward, he relocated to Washington, DC, to teach at Howard University's Department of Radio, Television, and Film where he has influenced young filmmakers for over twenty-five years.
Influenced by UCLA classmate and filmmaker Charles Burnett, and by the celebrated Black poet and educator Sterling Brown, Gerima's films are noted for their exploration of the issues and history pertinent to members of the African diaspora, from the continent itself to the Americas and Western Hemisphere. Often corrective of Hollywood versions of slave stories, his films comment on the physical, cultural, and psychological dislocation of Black peoples during and after slavery. What distinguishes his films are that the narratives are told from the perspectives of Africans and members of the African Diaspora itself, rather than being sanitized and misinterpreted by more commercially oriented filmmakers.
Gerima's unique filmmaking aesthetic is coupled with a personal mission to correct long-held misconceptions about Black peoples' varied histories throughout the world; for this reason, he is considered--by colleagues and students alike--to be a master teacher in the classroom and behind the camera.- Producer
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Francois Verster was born on 12 February 1969 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is a producer and director, known for Scenes from a Dry City (2018), Girl, Taken (2022) and Sea Point Days (2008).- Director
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Khaled Marei is known for Sorry to Disturb (2008), Tito (2004) and Bittersweet (2010). He is married to Kawthar Younis.- Director
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Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director and screenwriter who is known for the science fiction films District 9, Elysium and Chappie. He also directed the supernatural horror film Demonic and the 2007 short film Halo: Landfall, based on the Microsoft science fiction video game franchise. He had a child from his wife Terri Tatchell.- Director
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Rachid Bouchareb was born on 1 September 1959 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Days of Glory (2006), Little Senegal (2000) and Cheb (1991).A French-Algerian director- Director
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A writer, director and producer, Steven began his career in the South African film industry, before writing and co-producing Gerrie & Louise, an International Emmy award-winning, feature-length documentary for the CBC in 1997. As a director, his documentaries include several projects for the History Channel and Discovery Channel, as well as Diameter of the Bomb and the celebrated and critically-acclaimed The Last Just Man, which won over fourteen international awards. Steven has also written, directed and produced films for both the CBC and PBS.
Steven has written and directed six films for Barna-Alper Productions, including Box Car Rebellion; Doctor's Strike; The Last Just Man; The Anglo Boer War; and The Dark Years. He is currently writing a screenplay for a feature film based on the book The Bang Bang Club, which he will also direct.
Steven has a law degree from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.- Director
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Mahamat-Saleh Haroun was born in 1961 in Abéché, Chad. He is a director and writer, known for Dry Season (2006), A Screaming Man (2010) and Our Father (2002).- Producer
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Djo Tunda wa Munga was born in 1972 in Kinshasa, DR Congo where he spent his childhood. At the age of 10 he left for Belgium. He studied art school. Later he joined the National Film School of Belgium, INSAS. After completing his studies he returned to Kinshasa where he worked as producer and assistant director for various international TV production (BBC, ARTE, DRTV2).
He produced Congo in Four Acts which was successful as both a training and a production project. He was named the African trailblazer 2010 for MIPTV. His debut feature, VIVA RIVA! premiered at Toronto and Berlin to positive notices from critics and awards bodies alike. It won 6 African movie awards, an MTV award for best African film and has sold widely internationally (US, UK, Australia, France, Germany...)
In 2012, Djo founded his UK-based company to develop international projects and create content for a global market.- Actor
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Faouzi Bensaïdi was born on 14 March 1967 in Meknes, Morocco. He is an actor and director, known for Mille mois (2003), Baya Al Maut (2011) and Volubilis (2017).- Producer
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Hala Lotfy was born in 1973 in Cairo, Egypt. She is a producer and director, known for Coming Forth by Day (2012), Leil Khargi (2018) and The Bridge.- Director
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Narimane Mari is known for Bloody Beans (2013), On a eu la journée bonsoir (2022) and Holy Days (2019).- Director
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Abderrahmane Sissako was born on 13 October 1961 in Kiffa, Mauritania. He is a director and writer, known for Timbuktu (2014), Life on Earth (1998) and Waiting for Happiness (2002).- Writer
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Mohamed Diab is an Egyptian filmmaker and the lead director on Marvel Studio's MOON KNIGHT starring Oscar Isaac, Ethan Hawke and May Calamawy.
He began his career as a screenwriter, achieving commercial success in the Middle East. In 2010 he made his directorial debut CAIRO 678, about a trio of female vigilantes who fight sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo. Paulo Coehlo tweeted it "should be mandatory for all men to watch."
In 2016, he followed up with the Cannes Film Festival's Un Certain Regarde opener CLASH (2016), an action packed political thriller shot entirely from within the confines of a police truck. Tom Hanks praised the film and urged people to see it, for "it will break your heart, but enlighten all."
His film AMIRA (2021) picked up three awards at the Venice Film Festival. The story centers around the phenomenon of Palestinian prisoners conceiving children through smuggled sperm.
Mohamed often collaborates with his writer-producer partner and wife, Sarah Goher.
In 2011, Diab received a Webby award for his role in the Egyptian revolution, which was chronicled in the bestselling book "Rising from Tahrir." Diab was also featured as a main character in "Tahrir," a video game about the Arab Spring.- Actress
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Rayhana Obermeyer is known for I Still Hide to Smoke (2016), Let Them Come (2015) and Paris Prestige (2016).- Director
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Tamer El Said is an independent Egyptian filmmaker, writer and producer.
El Said studied journalism at Cairo University and Film Directing at the High Institute of Cinema graduating in 1998 with honorable mention, and received his diploma in 2002. El Said worked as first assistant director on some of Egypt's bigger feature films, directed commercials, taught and worked as a producer for a number of production companies. Between 1994 and 2004, El Said wrote, produced and directed numerous award-winning shorts and documentaries including "On a Monday" (2004) and "Take Me" (2004). In 2006 he co-wrote the feature film "Ein Shams" (Eye of the Sun, 2008) with Ibrahim El Batout. In 2008, El Said began working on his first feature film "In the Last Days of the City".
In 2007, El Said founded Zero Production, an independent production company in Cairo. Zero Production supports independent filmmakers in Cairo and the region whether directly producing, lending equipment or offering work space. El Said is in the process of setting up, with Khalid Abdalla and others, Cimatheque, an alternative film center that aims to offer services and space to help develop and incubate the independent film movement in Cairo through building networks, sharing resources and building an infra-structure for the alternative film platform.- Actor
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Mohamed Ben Attia was born on 5 January 1976 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is an actor and director, known for Hedi (2016), Dear Son (2018) and Behind the Mountains (2023).- Director
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Alain Gomis was born in 1972 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for Félicité (2017), As a Man (2001) and Tey (2012).A French-Senegalese Director- Writer
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Directors born in Zambia and willing to bear witness on this country are something of a rarity. This is nonetheless the case of Rungano Nyoni, a young woman whose native town is Lusaka although she did not stay there long. She was indeed still a little girl when she emigrated to Great Britain with her parents. It is in Wales that Rongano actually grew up and from Birmingham University that she graduated... only to study drama at the London University of Arts. But an actress she was not destined to be (she played in only three films), as she proved thereafter. More interested in directing and writing (doesn't Rungano mean 'story-telling'), she turned to film making from 2009 on. The five shorts that bear her signature were selected in many festivals throughout the world and were multi-awarded. Two of them were filmed in her native Zambia, which is also the setting of her excellent first feature "I Am Not a Witch" (2017), where she narrates, in a half-quizzical half-poetic tone, the misadventures of a nine-year girl arbitrarily accused of being a witch. An internationally acclaimed work that reveals Nyoni's talent to a wide audience while at the same time bringing little known Zambia to the fore.- Writer
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Jenna Cato Bass is known for Love the One You Love (2014), High Fantasy (2017) and Good Madam (2021).- Director
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Wanuri's first feature film From A Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.
In 2009 Wanuri produced TV documentary For Our Land about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai for MNET, a pan African cable station. In 2010, her short science fiction Pumzi premiered at Sundance film festival and went on to win best short film at Cannes Independent Film Festival and the silver at Carthage Film Festival (Tunisia). Pumzi also earned Wanuri the 'Citta di Venezia 2010' award in Venice, Italy. Her second feature film Rafiki based on the short story "Jambula Tree" premiered at Cannes 2018 and was nominated for the Queer Palm.
Wanuri is the creator of the Afrobubblegum genre, fun, fierce and frivolous black content that celebrates joy and hope. Wanuri is a TED fellow and a World Economic Forum cultural leader.- Director
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Abu Bakr Shawky is known for Yomeddine (2018), Things I Heard on Wednesdays (2012) and The Looming Tower (2018).- Director
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Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam is known for Delphine's Prayers (2021), Mambar Pierrette (2023) and The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman (2018).- Director
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Blitz Bazawule is a Filmmaker and Musician born in Ghana and based in New York. Blitz's feature directorial debut 'The Burial Of Kojo' premiered on Netflix in 2019 via array. He co-directed Beyoncé's Black Is King which earned him a Grammy nomination in 2020. Blitz is directing 'The Color Purple Musical' for Warner Bros produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones and Scott Sanders. Blitz is the founder of Africa Film Society and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, the TED Fellowship and the Vilcek Prize.Mostly known as Blitz the Ambassador- Director
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Mati Diop was born on 22 June 1982 in Paris, France. She is an actress and director, known for Atlantics (2019), Dahomey (2024) and A Thousand Suns (2013).A French-Senegalese Director- Producer
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Kivu Ruhorahoza is known for Grey Matter (2011), Europa: Based on a True Story (2019) and Father's Day (2022).- Editor
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Mehdi Barsaoui was born on 23 May 1984 in Tunis, Tunisia. He is an editor and director, known for A Son (2019), Sideways (2010) and Bobby (2014).- Cinematographer
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Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese was born in 1980 in Lesotho. He is a cinematographer and director, known for This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection (2019), Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You. (2019) and Behemoth: Or the Game of God (2016).- Director
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Mounia Meddour was born on 15 May 1978 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is a director and writer, known for Papicha (2019), Hitman (2007) and Edwige (2012). She has been married to Xavier Gens since 2005.- Producer
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Alaa Eddine Aljem is known for The Unknown Saint (2019), The Desert Fish (2015) and The Road Bread (2015).- Director
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Philippe Lacôte grew up in Abidjan near a movie theater called "Le Magic". In 1989 he was a reporter for the radio with a series of sound portraits on the fall of the Berlin Wall. Later he made his first short films (The Messenger, Affaire Libinski) shown in several international festivals. Alongside these very narrative fictions he developed since 2002 a documentary work with films written in the first person (Cairo Hours, Chronicles of War in the Ivory Coast). His first feature film "Run" (Cannes 2014, Un Certain Regard) is the junction of these two approaches.- Writer
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Omar El Zohairy an Egyptian director studied Cinema at the Cairo Cinema Institute and worked as an assistant director alongside some of Egypt's most prominent directors, including Youssef Chahine, Yousry Nasrallah and Sherif Arafa. His first short film Breathe Out (2011) won the Jury Special Mention Prize at Dubai International Film Festival. In 2014, his second short The Aftermath of The Inauguration of The Public Toilet at Kilometer 375 was the first Egyptian film to be selected for the Cannes Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. The film went on to screen at several film festivals around the world winning numerous awards, including Best Short Film at Durban International Film Festival and Best Student Live Action Short (over 15 minutes) at Palm Springs International ShortFest.
Feathers is El Zohairy's first feature film. The film previously won the Grand Prize of the International Critics' Week at 2021 Cannes Film Festival, marking the first Egyptian feature film to receive this award in the history of the festival, the FIPRESCI award for the best first feature in Cannes's parallel sections. Afterwards, it went on to screen at several international film festivals winning awards, including Best Film at Roberto Rossellini Awards of the 5th Pingyao International Film Festival; Special Mention at New Horizons International Film Festival in Poland and El Gouna Star for the Best Arab Narrative Film at El Gouna Film Festival. Feathers swept the awards circuit at the 32nd Carthage Film Festival (JCC), winning 4 awards: the festival's top award, Golden Tanit for Feature Fiction Film, First Film Jury prize, which went to Omar El Zohairy; Prize for Best Screenplay awarded to El Zohairy and Ahmed Amer and Prize for Best Female Performance that went to Demyana Nassar.
El Zohairy is also the winner of Variety Award for the MENA talent of the year 2021.- Director
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Jessica Beshir was born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. She is known for Faya Dayi (2021), Hairat (2017) and Heroin (2017).- Director
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Ayten Amin was born in 1978 in Alexandria, Egypt. She is a director and writer, known for Souad (2021), Villa 69 (2013) and The Shanabs (2023).- Director
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Oliver Hermanus was born on 26 May 1983 in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a director and writer, known for Moffie (2019), Beauty (2011) and Shirley Adams (2009).- Writer
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Born in Tangier in 1980, Maryam Touzani spent her childhood in her hometown before pursuing university studies in journalism in London. Passionate about writing, she returned to Morocco after her studies and worked there as a journalist, specializing in Maghreb cinema. Quickly, she felt the need to express herself through her own films.
In 2008, she wrote and directed a documentary for the first National Women's Day in Morocco, an important date for the country. Other documentaries will follow... "When they slept "(2012), her first short fiction film, will be screened and awarded at prestigious festivals around the world, winning a total of seventeen awards.
In 2015, her second short film, "Aya Goes to the Beach" continued on the same path, winning fifteen awards. Thanks to the highly acclaimed "Much Loved" (2015) by director Nabil Ayouch, selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, she deepens her experience by collaborating closely with the director, working on the development of the script and participating in the shooting at various levels. Shortly after, she co-wrote with Nabil Ayouch her last feature film, "Razzia", presented in competition at the Toronto International Film Festival and which will represent Morocco at the Oscars. In "Razzia", where she also plays one of the main roles, she finds herself on the other side of the camera for the first time.
"Adam", the first fiction feature film by Maryam Touzani, will make its world premiere in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. The film will then be selected at renowned festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, American Institute Film Fest, among others, and will win 23 awards to date. It will also be sold in over 20 countries.
In 2019 Maryam becomes a member of the Academy of Oscars. The same year, "Adam" will be the official selection of Morocco for the Oscar race in the category of best foreign film.