Algerian director Djamel Bendeddouche died on the night of February 19th to 20th at the age of 80.
He began his career working with director Mustapha Badie on television dramas such as Le Postier. He moved from assistant director to director on national television, directing documentaries and short films such as Le Conflit, Laboratoire and L’Oiseau blanc. He then joined the ENPA (Entreprise Nationale de Production Audiovisuelle) to produce educational films.
Djamel Bendeddouche is remembered today particularly for his feature film Arezki, l’indigène (2008), considered by some to be “his greatest achievement”. Due to financial problems, though, it took almost 20 years for this film to see the light of day. It was only during “Algeria, capital of Arab culture” that Bendeddouche was given production grants.
The script is based on the life of Arezki L’Bashir, a bandit who stole from the rich to help the poor. Set in 1895, the film follows a young Parisian journalist, Albertine Auclair, [who] lands in Kabylia to write an article on picturesque Algeria and to visit the grave of her father, an officer in the French army. She meets Arezki, a lumberjack clearing forests. He has a difficult relationship with his foreman, but when the latter provokes him, Arezki lashes out and kills him. Arezki takes to the wilderness, followed by a friend, Amar. They become outlaws.
The originality of the film lies in the central character’s ambivalence. By saving the life of a French colonial, Arezki makes a stand against the “purely warlike opponents [of the French] to assert himself in his search for dignity.” The character is now part of popular myth.
Sources : Liberté, El Watan, Africine, Algérie Presse Service
