THE ARAB

Malek Bensmaïl was born in Constantine in 1966. He is an Algerian filmmaker whose work powerfully explores the intersections of memory, history, and politics. Trained in cinema in Paris and Saint Petersburg, he has been developing since the 1990s a demanding body of work, grounded in reality yet open to the world. His films "Aliénations" (2005), "China is Still Far Away" (2010), "Checks and Balances" (2014), and "The Battle of Algiers, a Film Within History" (2017) – offer a lucid and sensitive portrait of contemporary Algeria. Celebrated at numerous international festivals, he continues with "The Arab" his exploration of identities and imaginaries across the Mediterranean.