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Yamina Benguigui (born April 9, 1957)[1] is a French-Algerian film director known for her films on gender issues in the North African immigrant community in France.[2]
Contents |
Life
Benguigui's parents were Kabyle and immigrated to France from Algeria in the early 1950s.[3] She never discovered why her parents decided to leave Algeria, saying the subject was considered taboo.[4] Born in Lille, Benguigui was the eldest daughter of six children and spent her childhood in northern France.[5] Describing herself as a quiet child who grew up in the Islamic tradition, Benguigui was only 13 years old when she first decided to become a filmmaker.[5]
Her father was a political leader in the Algerian National Movement, and was jailed in France for three years as a political prisoner (she has also stated that he was jailed on two separate occasions, and that her whole family was once under house arrest).[2][5] Because he did not support her in her chosen profession, Benguigui broke off contact with him early on, only to reconnect with him in late 2001.[2] After she left the family her mother divorced her father as well.[5] Yamina Benguigui married a Jewish pied-noir and has two daughters.[5]
Career
Earning her baccalaureate and going on to study at film school, Benguigui then collaborated with French director Jean-Daniel Pollet.[5] Later Benguigui founded Bandit Productions with director Rachid Bouchareb.[6] In 1994 her documentary Femmes d'Islam was broadcast on France 2,[7] but subsequently she decided that she would prefer to examine the immigrant experience in France rather than life in Algeria.[5]
Her next documentary, Mémoires d'immigrés, l'héritage maghrébin, cost 50 million francs and was the result of 350 interviews conducted with immigrants across France. After a two year period of preparation and another nine months of editing it was first shown in May 1997 on Canal+. Receiving positive reviews from critics, it was rebroadcast the following month and brought to theaters the following January.[7]
As of February 2008 Benguigui was working on a film entitled Le paradis, c'est complet!, starring Isabelle Adjani.[8][9]
In the March 2008 French municipal elections Benguigui was elected in the XXe arrondissement to the Conseil de Paris, where she will concern herself with human rights and the fight against discrimination.[10] She is associated with the Socialist Party.[11]
Filmography
- Femmes d'Islam (1994)[7]
- Mémoires d'immigrés, l'héritage maghrébin (Immigrant Memories, 1997) Director[12]
- Pimprenelle, in Pas d'histoires! (Don't Make Trouble!, 2001) Director and writer[12]
- Inch'Allah Dimanche (Inch'Allah Sunday, 2001) Director and writer[12]
- Aïcha, Mohamed, Chaïb… Engagés pour la France (2003)[13]
- Le Plafond de verre (The Glass Ceiling, 2004) Director[12] and writer[14]
- Les Défricheurs (2006) Director[12]
- Changer de regard - Portrait n° 5 (2007) Director[1]
Awards
Mémoires d'immigrés, l'héritage maghrébin
- Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels, Michel Mitrani prize[5]
- San Francisco International Film Festival, Golden Gate Award[7]
- 7 d'Or Night, Best Documentary (1997)[15]
Inch'Allah Dimanche
- Amiens International Film Festival, OCIC Award and Prize of the City of Amiens (2001)[15]
- Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema, Audience Award and Golden Wave (2001)[15]
- Cairo International Film Festival, Golden Pyramid (2001)[15]
- International Film Festival of Marrakech, Golden Star (2001)[15]
- Toronto International Film Festival, International Critics' Award (FIPRESCI) (2001)[15]
References
- ^ a b "Yamina Benguigui". uniFrance. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
- ^ a b c Alexander, Livia (May 2002). "French-Algerian: A Story of Immigrants and Identity". SATYA. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ Kerviel, Sylvie (1999-06-21). "Au nom des immigrés; YAMINA BENGUIGUI." (in French), Le Monde.
- ^ "Portraits d'immigrés" (in French). Entre-Gens. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dupont, Joan (1998-03-31). "Seeking an Identity in 'the Immigrant's Silence'", International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 11 April 2008.
- ^ Miadi, Fadwa (2006-01-29). "Yamina Benguigui: Cinéaste franco-algérienne" (in French), Jeune Afrique. Retrieved on 12 April 2008.
- ^ a b c d Sylvie Durmelat, "Transmission and Mourning in Mémoires d'immigrés: l'héritage maghrébin: Yamina Benguigui as 'Memory Entrepreneuse,'" in Women, Immigration and Identities in France, ed. Jane Freedman and Carrie Tarr (Berg Publishers, 2000). ISBN 1859734367 p. 171-172.
- ^ Chouffan, Alain (2008-02-21). "Yamina Benguigui : Nous irons tous au paradis" (in French), Le Nouvel Observateur. Retrieved on 11 April 2008.
- ^ "Isabelle Adjani : Plus proche de ses origines algériennes" (in French), El Watan (2008-01-21). Retrieved on 11 April 2008.
- ^ "Paris: Delanoë réélu maire, Baupin perd les transports" (in French), Liberation (2008-03-21). Retrieved on 11 April 2008.
- ^ "Les élus 2008-2014 au Conseil de Paris" (in French). Fédération de Paris du Parti socialiste. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ a b c d e "Yamina Benguigui". The Internet Movie Databse. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ Arnaud, Alexandra (2003-09-27). "Chez moi, la France" (in French), l'Humanité. Retrieved on 11 April 2008.
- ^ "The Tournées Festival: Le Plafond de Verre". French American Cultural Exchange. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
- ^ a b c d e f "Awards for Yamina Benguigui". The Internet Movie Databse. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
