Ahmed Benaissa

Ahmed Benaïssa (in Arabic: أحمد بن عيسى), born March 2, 1944 in Algiers and died May 20, 2022 in Cannes, is a Franco-Algerian actor. As a child, Ahmed Benaïssa was fascinated by the religious festivals of Nédroma where he spent his summer holidays and at the age of 9, in Mazouna, he played in front of another kid's 9.5mm camera for 1mn30! The magic of the show leads him to make his own cinema with cardboard. He joined his father in Paris who had retreated there after his release following independence activities in Algeria. In Oise, at the college boarding school, he became a designated projectionist. In 1960-61, he was in Lyon, aged 17, and frequented the local artistic scene at the Théâtre de la Cité. There he attended the Al Capone show, directed by Planchon. It's dazzling. When Algeria gained independence in 1962, the Lyon consulate included him in an animation course for compatriots from Algeria, then returned to Algeria, to Sidi Bel Abbès, where he entered the conservatory municipal then led by Saïm El Hadj. In July 1964, on a family visit to Algiers, he convinced Bénaïssa Boudia and Mustapha Kateb to join a training course for conservatory graduates at the initiative of the TNA (Algerian National Theater). After six months of training, he was ranked first in each discipline. Its first distribution was under the leadership of Alloula in 1966/67 in Monnaies D’Or. It will be breathtaking there. The TNA sent him to an advanced training course in France, then he ...

2

Outside the Law (2010)

After losing their family home in Algeria in the 1920s, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Rachid Bouchareb
CAST:  Jamel Debbouze  •  Roschdy Zem  •  Sami Bouajila  •  Chafia Boudraa

After losing their family home in Algeria in the 1920s, three brothers and their mother are scattered across the globe. Messaoud joins the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader becomes a leader of the Algerian independence movement in France and Saïd moves ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Rachid Bouchareb
CAST:  Jamel Debbouze  •  Roschdy Zem  •  Sami Bouajila  •  Chafia Boudraa

Arabian Nights (2007)

Georges's life is turned upside-down when he meets Yamina and decides to help her. While she seems to be persecuted and living in hiding, Georges's reality is rooted in a daily routine without any surprises. Yamina's stories fascinate him: her happy childhood under ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Paul Kieffer
CAST:  Jules Werner  •  Sabrina Ouazani  •  Anne Marie Solvi  •  Marco Lorenzini

Georges's life is turned upside-down when he meets Yamina and decides to help her. While she seems to be persecuted and living in hiding, Georges's reality is rooted in a daily routine without any surprises. Yamina's stories fascinate him: her happy childhood under ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Paul Kieffer
CAST:  Jules Werner  •  Sabrina Ouazani  •  Anne Marie Solvi  •  Marco Lorenzini

Rome Rather Than You (2006)

"For more than ten years, Algeria has been living a slow war, a war without a front line but having caused more than 100,000 deaths. It is this desert that Zina and Kamel – two young Algerians sometimes hallucinated and joyful, sometimes dejected and serene – will ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tariq Teguia
CAST:  Samira Kaddour  •  Rachid Amrani  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Kader Affak

"For more than ten years, Algeria has been living a slow war, a war without a front line but having caused more than 100,000 deaths. It is this desert that Zina and Kamel – two young Algerians sometimes hallucinated and joyful, sometimes dejected and serene – will ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tariq Teguia
CAST:  Samira Kaddour  •  Rachid Amrani  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Kader Affak

Inland (2008)

Algerian filmmaker Tariq Teguia wrote and directed this impressionistic look at a man whose life takes an unexpected turn far away from home. Malek (Abdelkader Affak) is a surveyor from Algeria who is semi-retired, but at the urging of a friend he takes an ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tariq Teguia
CAST:  Kader Affak  •  Ina Rose Djakou  •  Fethi Ghares  •  Kouider Medjahed

Algerian filmmaker Tariq Teguia wrote and directed this impressionistic look at a man whose life takes an unexpected turn far away from home. Malek (Abdelkader Affak) is a surveyor from Algeria who is semi-retired, but at the urging of a friend he takes an ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tariq Teguia
CAST:  Kader Affak  •  Ina Rose Djakou  •  Fethi Ghares  •  Kouider Medjahed

Gates of the Sun (2015)

An Algerian secret agent has to destroy an undercover paramilitary organization that plans to strike against the country and its people.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Marc Minéo
CAST:  Zakaria Ramdane  •  Smaïn  •  Lorie Pester  •  Sofia Nouacer Kouninef

An Algerian secret agent has to destroy an undercover paramilitary organization that plans to strike against the country and its people.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Marc Minéo
CAST:  Zakaria Ramdane  •  Smaïn  •  Lorie Pester  •  Sofia Nouacer Kouninef

Morituri (2007)

 (more)

DIRECTION:  Okacha Touita
CAST:  Miloud Khetib  •  Azzedine Bouraghda  •  Boualem Benani  •  Ahmed Benaissa

 (more)

DIRECTION:  Okacha Touita
CAST:  Miloud Khetib  •  Azzedine Bouraghda  •  Boualem Benani  •  Ahmed Benaissa

Ismael's Ghosts (2017)

Just as the disheveled and alcoholic filmmaker Ismaël embarks on a difficult new film project, his life is sent into a tailspin. His wife Carlotta, presumed dead for 20 years, come crashing back into his life creating chaos in his work and his current romantic ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Arnaud Desplechin
CAST:  Mathieu Amalric  •  Marion Cotillard  •  Charlotte Gainsbourg  •  Louis Garrel

Just as the disheveled and alcoholic filmmaker Ismaël embarks on a difficult new film project, his life is sent into a tailspin. His wife Carlotta, presumed dead for 20 years, come crashing back into his life creating chaos in his work and his current romantic ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Arnaud Desplechin
CAST:  Mathieu Amalric  •  Marion Cotillard  •  Charlotte Gainsbourg  •  Louis Garrel

Close Enemies (2018)

Driss and Manuel both grew up on the same council estate. An estate where the sense of belonging to your patch is much stronger than the sense of belonging to a country, a nation or a culture... Manuel has assimilated this belonging, and he has even benefited from ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Oelhoffen
CAST:  Matthias Schoenaerts  •  Reda Kateb  •  Sofiane Zermani  •  Adel Bencherif

Driss and Manuel both grew up on the same council estate. An estate where the sense of belonging to your patch is much stronger than the sense of belonging to a country, a nation or a culture... Manuel has assimilated this belonging, and he has even benefited from ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Oelhoffen
CAST:  Matthias Schoenaerts  •  Reda Kateb  •  Sofiane Zermani  •  Adel Bencherif

Papicha (2019)

Algiers, 1997. The country is in the hands of terrorist groups, seeking to establish an Islamic and archaic state. Women are particularly affected and oppressed by primitive diktas, who seek to take control of their bodies and control their passage through the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Mounia Meddour
CAST:  Marwan Zeghbib  •  Lyna Khoudri  •  Yasin Houicha  •  Nadia Kaci

Algiers, 1997. The country is in the hands of terrorist groups, seeking to establish an Islamic and archaic state. Women are particularly affected and oppressed by primitive diktas, who seek to take control of their bodies and control their passage through the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Mounia Meddour
CAST:  Marwan Zeghbib  •  Lyna Khoudri  •  Yasin Houicha  •  Nadia Kaci

Le Clandestin (1989)

Nine people with Abdullah Le Clandestin (Illegal Taxi), in one car, on the way to Algiers.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Benamar Bakhti
CAST:  Athmane Ariouet  •  Yahia Benmabrouk  •  Hamza Feghouli  •  Ouardia Hamtouche

Nine people with Abdullah Le Clandestin (Illegal Taxi), in one car, on the way to Algiers.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Benamar Bakhti
CAST:  Athmane Ariouet  •  Yahia Benmabrouk  •  Hamza Feghouli  •  Ouardia Hamtouche

The Female Demon (1994)

Directed by Hafsa Zinai Koudil.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hafsa Zinaï Koudil
CAST:  Doudja Achachi  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Djamila Haddadi  •  Said Amrane

Directed by Hafsa Zinai Koudil.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hafsa Zinaï Koudil
CAST:  Doudja Achachi  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Djamila Haddadi  •  Said Amrane

Leila and the Others (1977)

The story of Algerian women trying to live in 1970s Algeria where the society is between conservative values and progressive modern Algeria.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Sid Ali Mazif
CAST:  Aida Guechoud  •  Biyouna  •  Nadia Samir  •  Doudja Achachi

The story of Algerian women trying to live in 1970s Algeria where the society is between conservative values and progressive modern Algeria.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Sid Ali Mazif
CAST:  Aida Guechoud  •  Biyouna  •  Nadia Samir  •  Doudja Achachi

Kahla wa Bayda (1980)

Rabie is a kid from Sétif in 1980, trying to collect money to buy a wheelchair for his paralyzid sister Sassia, so she can get out of the house.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Abderrahmane Bouguermouh
CAST:  El Amine Benmaamar  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Sid Ahmed Agoumi  •  Chafia Boudraa

Rabie is a kid from Sétif in 1980, trying to collect money to buy a wheelchair for his paralyzid sister Sassia, so she can get out of the house.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Abderrahmane Bouguermouh
CAST:  El Amine Benmaamar  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Sid Ahmed Agoumi  •  Chafia Boudraa

Sotto Voce (2013)

During the Algerian war, the road to Beni Boussaid on the Morocco-Algeria border is obstructed by the Morice line, a 430-mile long belt that is electrified and heavily mined. Moussa, a Moroccan friend of the revolution, helps refugees across the mountains. However, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kamal Kamal
CAST:  Amal Ayouch  •  Mohamed Bastaoui  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Rafik Boubker

During the Algerian war, the road to Beni Boussaid on the Morocco-Algeria border is obstructed by the Morice line, a 430-mile long belt that is electrified and heavily mined. Moussa, a Moroccan friend of the revolution, helps refugees across the mountains. However, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kamal Kamal
CAST:  Amal Ayouch  •  Mohamed Bastaoui  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Rafik Boubker

 (more)

DIRECTION:  Derri Berkani
CAST:  Malek Kateb  •  Rabah Loucif  •  Ahmed Benaissa  •  Thamila Mezbah

Sons of Ramses (2023)

Thirty-four year old Ramsès has established himself as a clairvoyant in La Goutte d’Or, Paris. A shrewd manipulator and something of a poet, he built a sound business consoling people. Elusive and dangerous youths, freshly arrived from the streets of Tangier, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Clément Cogitore
CAST:  Karim Leklou  •  Malik Zidi  •  Elsa Wolliaston  •  Jawad Outouia

Thirty-four year old Ramsès has established himself as a clairvoyant in La Goutte d’Or, Paris. A shrewd manipulator and something of a poet, he built a sound business consoling people. Elusive and dangerous youths, freshly arrived from the streets of Tangier, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Clément Cogitore
CAST:  Karim Leklou  •  Malik Zidi  •  Elsa Wolliaston  •  Jawad Outouia

The Epic of Cheikh Bouamama (1985)

The story of the film revolves around the epic of Sheikh Bouamama, a leader of the national resistance in Algeria during the French colonial era. The events are taking place in southwestern Algeria. The film also tells about different stages of the resistance, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Benamar Bakhti
CAST:  Athmane Ariouet  •  Sid Ahmed Agoumi  •  Robert Bazil  •  Sissani (Mohamed Djediat)

The story of the film revolves around the epic of Sheikh Bouamama, a leader of the national resistance in Algeria during the French colonial era. The events are taking place in southwestern Algeria. The film also tells about different stages of the resistance, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Benamar Bakhti
CAST:  Athmane Ariouet  •  Sid Ahmed Agoumi  •  Robert Bazil  •  Sissani (Mohamed Djediat)

Habib (2023)

The story of a young Belgian actor of Moroccan origin who agrees to play the role of Saint-François-d'Assise to put an end to the roles of nice Arabs that are stuck on his forehead in often mediocre films. Getting into the historical figure will represent a real ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Benoît Mariage
CAST:  Bastien Ughetto  •  Catherine Deneuve  •  Sofia Lesaffre  •  Ahmed Benaissa

The story of a young Belgian actor of Moroccan origin who agrees to play the role of Saint-François-d'Assise to put an end to the roles of nice Arabs that are stuck on his forehead in often mediocre films. Getting into the historical figure will represent a real ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Benoît Mariage
CAST:  Bastien Ughetto  •  Catherine Deneuve  •  Sofia Lesaffre  •  Ahmed Benaissa

 (more)

DIRECTION:  Moussa Haddad
CAST:  Abdelkader Hamdi  •  Allel El Mouhib  •  Hadj Smaine  •  Mohamed Ouaniche
2