Entertainment | Film & Cinema
Bouchareb's glory
Days of Glory director Rachid Bouchareb was honoured with the DIFF 2008 Lifetime Achievement award. He reasons why the Middle East is unfamiliar with his work
- By Dina Aboul Hosn, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:30 December 16, 2008
- Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
- At the age of 49, director Rachid Bouchareb may seem a little young to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award.
At the age of 49, director Rachid Bouchareb may seem a little young to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award.
However, the Algerian French director is happy with the Dubai International Film Festival accolade. "At long last, we have such cultural activities in Arab cities, including Dubai, Marrakesh and Algiers," Bouchareb said.
Bouchareb has directed and written or co-written many films, including Cheb, Dust of Life, Little Senegal and My Family's Honour. He has also produced films such as Twenty-nine Palms, L'Humanite, West Beirut and Niloofar.
Identity crisis
His films Cheb and Little Senegal were shown at DIFF. Cheb tells the story of an Algerian immigrant in France, who is deported and sent back home, facing a serious identity crisis — a recurring theme in Bouchareb's work.
Little Senegal is one of his best known and loved films, and is a deeply profound meditation on immigration and the primal urge to connect with one's roots.
One of his major successes was the film Days of Glory, which was a worldwide hit. "It is an action film that was a big hit in Europe and many countries around the world. It was shown at the Cannes Festival and got an Oscar nomination," he said.
And while Bouchareb's films make it to film festivals around the world, the average Middle Eastern audience outside North Africa remain unfamiliar with his work, something he blames on Arabic television and distributors.
"I'm very well-known in Algeria and France, and it's not my fault that my films are not shown in the Middle East. Why do TV stations show Hollywood films about the Second World War but not an Arabic movie with Arab actors? It is the fault of TV stations and distributors," he said.
Bouchareb's latest film is London River, an action movie which tells the story of the terrorist attacks that took place in London. The film will be shown at the Berlin Cinema Festival in February.
"As for my future projects, I've been planning for three months for a new film, which tells stories from Algeria's liberation war against France. We'll start shooting in July," Bouchareb said.
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