Ahmed Boulane (born 1 January 1956 in

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran ...

, Morocco) is a Moroccan film director, producer and screenplay writer. Known as ''l'enfant terrible du cinéma marocain'' for his antics with journalists and his fellow filmmakers, he is considered to be one of the most talented directors in Morocco.

Biography

After a stint working in theater and radio as an actor in Morocco and then living in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, he returned to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

where he worked for 25 years in various positions in the film industry: actor, location manager, production manager, casting director and first assistant director. He was first assistant director in more than fifty international feature films for renowned directors, such as

Giuliano Montaldo Giuliano Montaldo (born 22 February 1930) is an Italian film director. Biography While he was still a young student, Montaldo was recruited by the director Carlo Lizzani for the role of leading actor in the film ''Achtung! Banditi!'' (1951). ...

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and

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal ...

, among others. His first short film, ''Voyage dans le passé'' received the prestigious Vatican award at the 7th Milan African Film Festival and launched his dream of a becoming a feature film director. His first feature film, ''Ali, Rabiaa and the Others'' was removed from movie theaters a few days after its release, considered too controversial for Morocco, but he won several international awards for this project. Despite a chaotic production where permits were refused at the last minute by certain Moroccan administrations, his second feature film, ''The Satanic Angels'', was first at the box office in Morocco in 2008, ahead of films like ''

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'' and ''

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''. His most recent films are ''The Return of the Son'' in 2011, and ''La Isla'', a co-production with Spain released in 2016. In 2019 Ahmed Boulane published his first book '' Ma vie est belle'', translated into English by Dana Schondelmeyer ('' What a Beautiful Life''), a memoir of his childhood, adolescence and early twenties. In 2019 he was nominated as the head of the grand jury for the Golden Movie Awards Africa.

Filmography

* 1990: ''Plateau idéal'' (director) * 1990: ''Crime imparfait'' (director) * 1993: ''Adopte-moi'' (director) * 1996: '' Voyage dans le passé'' (director, producer, screenplay writer) * 2000: '' Ali, Rabiaa and the Others...'' (director, producer, screenplay writer) * 2001: ''Midnight Fly'' (co-producer) * 2002: ''Fetching Water'' and ''Go karts'' (director) * 2002: ''Casablanca, Casablanca'' (co-screenplay writer) * 2003: '' Moi, ma mère et Betina'' (director, screenplay writer) * 2007: '' The Satanic Angels'' (director, producer, screenplay writer) * 2011: '' The Return of the Son'' (director, producer, screenplay writer) * 2015: '' La Isla'' (director, producer, screenplay writer) ;Actor * 1977: ''El Kanfoudi'' by

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* 1979: ''Le Gouverneur général'' by

* 1981: ''Rollover'' by

* 1982: ''Al Jamra'' by Farida Bourkia * 1983: '' Afghanistan pourquoi ?'' by Abdellah Mesbahi * 1985: ''

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'' by

Elaine May Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American comedian, filmmaker, playwright, and actress. She has received numerous awards including an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and a Tony. She made her initial impact in the 1950s with her ...

* 1987: ''Deadline'' by Richard Stroud * 1988: ''Der Aufsteiger'' by Peter Kevilc * 1989: '' Les 1001 nuits'' by

* 1990: ''Un submarí a les estovalles'' by Ignasi P. Ferré * 1992: '' L'Enfant lion'' by

Patrick Grandperret Patrick Grandperret (24 October 1946 – 9 March 2019) was a French film director, screenwriter and producer.

* 1993: ''Enfance volée'' by
Hakim Noury Hakim Noury is a Morocco, Moroccan television and film director. Filmography *''Stolen Childhood (film), L'Enfance volée'' - The stolen childhood * ''Le destin d’une Femme'' - The destiny of a woman * ''Le marteau et l’enclume'' - * ''Hist ...
* 1994: '' Marie de Nazareth'' by
Jean Delannoy Jean Delannoy (12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Biography Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a P ...
* 1994: ''King David'' by
Robert Markowitz Robert Markowitz (born February 7, 1935, in Irvington, New Jersey) is an American film and television director. He directed episodes of ''Serpico'' (1976), '' Delvecchio'' (1976-1977), and ''Amazing Stories'' (1986), and a number of television ...
* 1996: ''Aouchtam'' by
Mohamed Ismaïl Mohamed Ismaïl (1 September 1951 – 20 March 2021) was a Moroccan film director. He directed the 2008 film '' Goodbye Mothers''. References Moroccan film directors 1951 births 2021 deaths {{Morocco-film-director-stub ...
* 1997: ''Di cielo in cielo'' by Roberto Giannarelli * 1997: ''Solomon'' by Roger Young * 1997: ''Marrakech Express'' by
Gillies MacKinnon Gillies MacKinnon (born 8 January 1948, Glasgow) is a Scottish film director, writer and painter. He attended the Glasgow School of Art where he studied mural painting. Following this he became an art teacher and cartoonist, and about this time ...
* 1998: ''The Seventh Scroll'' by Kevin Connor * 1999: ''Passeur d'enfants'' by Franck Apprederis * 2000: '' Ali, Rabiaa and the Others...'' by Ahmed Boulane * 2001: ''Le Piano'' by
Lahcen Zinoun Lahcen Zinoun (born in 1944) is a Moroccan choreographer, modern dancer and filmmaker. He is considered the most renowned contemporary Moroccan choreographer. Biography Zinoun was born in 1944 in ''La Cité ouvrière'' Socica of Hay Mohammadi, ...
* 2002: ''Casablanca, Casablanca'' by Farida Belyazid * 2003: ''Jawhara'' by Saâd Chraïbi * 2004: ''Story of One'' by Nick Murphy * 2005: ''Suspect'' by Mohamed Caghat * 2006: '' The Satanic Angels'' by Ahmed Boulane * 2007: ''Al Kadia'' by Noureddine Lakhmari * 2007: ''
Whatever Lola Wants "Whatever Lola Wants" is a popular song, sometimes rendered as "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets". The music and words were written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross for the 1955 musical play ''Damn Yankees''. The song is sung to Joe Hardy by Lola, ...
'' by
Nabil Ayouch Nabil Ayouch (born 1 April 1969) is a Franco-Moroccan television and film director, producer, and writer. His films have screened at international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and Montreal World Film Festival. Early life H ...
* 2008: ''
Cicatrice A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a na ...
'' by Mehdi Salmi * 2011: '' The Return of the Son'' by Ahmed Boulane * 2013: ''
Prisoners of the Sun ''Prisoners of the Sun'' (french: link=no, Le Temple du Soleil) is the fourteenth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised weekly in the newly established ''Tintin'' mag ...
'' by Roger Christian * 2015: '' La Isla'' by Ahmed Boulane * 2016: '' Julie - Aicha'' by Ahmed Maanouni * 2017: '' Razzia'' by Nabyl Ayouch * 2018: '' Instinto'' by Carlos Sedes * 2019: '' The Spy'' by Raf Gideon * 2020: Los Favoritos of Mida by Mateo Gil * 2020: Rauhantekijä by Antti jussi Annilla * 2021: " Bab Labhar TV series by Chawki laoufir opruduced by Ali In. * 2022: " Los frad " TV Serie by Mariano Barroso.

Awards
''Voyage dans le passé'' * 1997: 2nd prize Vatican Award - 7th Milan African Film Festival, Milan, Italy * 1998: Special Jury Mention - 5th National Moroccan Film Festival, Casablanca, Morocco ''Ali, Rabiaa and the Others'' * 2000: Best First Film - 6th National Moroccan Film Festival, Marrakech, Morocco * 2000: Journalists' Award - 6th National Moroccan Film Festival, Marrakech, Morocco * 2000: Best Editing - 6th National Moroccan Film Festival, Marrakech, Morocco * 2001: Best Supporting Actor - 6th National Moroccan Film Festival, Marrakech, Morocco * 2001: Best Supporting Actor - Alexandria Film Festival, Alexandria, Egypt * 2002: Special Jury Mention - Avança International Film Festival, Avança, Portugal ''The Satanic Angels'' * 2007: Best Music - 6th National Moroccan Film Festival, Tangier, Morocco * 2008: Jury's Award - Avança International Film Festival, Avança, Portugal ''The Return of the Son'' * 2012: Best Director - International Film Festival of Cinema and Migration, Utrecht, Netherlands * 2012: ''Coup du Coeur'' - 12th Marrakech International Film Festival, Marrakech, Morocco ''La Isla'' * 2015: ''Coup du Coeur'' - 15th Marrakech International Film Festival, Marrakech, Morocco * 2016: Jury's Award - Helsinki African Film Festival, Helsinki, Finland * 2017: Best Comedy - Cordoba International Film Festival, Cordoba, Columbia * 2017: Young Jury's Award - Angers African Film Festival, Angers, France

References

External links
*
Site officiel d'Ahmed Boulane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulane, Ahmed 1956 births People from Salé Moroccan film directors Living people