Tarak Ben Ammar ( ar, طارق بن عمّار; born June 12, 1949) is a Tunisian-French

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

and distributor; the owner of French production and distribution company Quinta Communications. He is famous for his interest in artistic movies, especially when they are related to

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

culture or require

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

n locations. His producing credits include the

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

film adaptation of ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' and

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

's '' Death Rite''. On 19 May 2010, he announced a "strategic relationship" with the

Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

. Ben Ammar became well known in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the beginning of 2004 when he decided to distribute ''

The Passion of The Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

'' after everybody else declined. He appeared on television

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

s, defending the movie. He is also known as the advisor of international investor

Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud ( ar, الوليد بن طلال آل سعود; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist and royal. He was listed on ''Time'' magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hu ...

, and French businessman

Vincent Bolloré Vincent Bolloré (born 1 April 1952) is a French billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of the investment group Bolloré. As of September 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$9 billion. Early life Bolloré was born in Boulogne- ...

. He was formerly a manager of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning ...

Early and Personal life

Ben Ammar was born in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

; to a French

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

mother of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

n descent who

converted to Islam Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

, and to a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n Muslim father. He was raised

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. He is the brother of writer

Hélé Béji Hélé Béji ( ar, هالة الباجي; born 1 April 1948) is a Tunisian writer. Biography The daughter of Tunisian politician , she was born in Tunis, passed her Agrégation de lettres modernes and went on to teach literature at the Universit ...

. His aunt

Wassila Ben Ammar Wassila Ben Ammar Bourguiba ( ar, وسيلة بن عمار; April 22, 1912 – June 22, 1999) was the second wife of the former Tunisian president Habib Bourguiba and the First Lady of Tunisia from 1962 until 1986. She was called ''Majda'' (ve ...

was the

First Lady of Tunisia First Lady of Tunisia ( ar, سيدة تونس الأولى, French: ''Première dame de Tunisie'') usually refers to the wife of the president of Tunisia. They often play a protocol role at the Carthage Palace and during official visits, though ...

as the wife of the first President of Tunisia,

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...

. Ben Ammar resides in France, with two of his three sons, Neil and Tarak Jr., and his model-singer daughter

Sonia Ben Ammar Sonia Ben Ammar (born 19 February 1999), also credited Sonia Ammar, is a Tunisian-French model, singer, and actress, who is signed with IMG Models. She has appeared on several magazine covers, including '' Vanity Fair'' and ''L'Officiel''. Ben ...

, from his marriage to actress Beata ( Sonczuk) who is of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

descent.

References

External links

Official website
* 1949 births Living people People from Tunis Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Tunisian film producers French people of Arab descent French people of Tunisian descent French people of Corsican descent Tunisian people of Arab descent Tunisian people of French descent French Muslims Tunisian Muslims {{film-producer-stub