Yamina Benguigui facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yamina Benguigui
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Yamina Benguigui in 2009
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| Born |
Yamina Zora Belaïdi
9 April 1955 |
| Occupation | film director and politician |
Yamina Benguigui is a French filmmaker and politician. She was born in Lille, France, on April 9, 1955. Her family came from Algeria. Yamina Benguigui is well-known for making movies about the lives of people from North Africa who moved to France. Her films helped many people from the Maghreb region in France share their stories. She often focused on how girls and women live in these communities.
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Early Life and Family
Yamina Benguigui's parents were from Algeria. They moved to France in the early 1950s. Yamina was the oldest of six children. She grew up in northern France. She described herself as a quiet child. She grew up following Islamic traditions. When she was only 13 years old, she decided she wanted to become a filmmaker.
Her father was a political leader. He was involved in the Algerian National Movement. Yamina Benguigui later married a Jewish man. She has two daughters.
Career in Filmmaking
After finishing school, Yamina Benguigui studied at a film school. She then worked with a French director named Jean-Daniel Pollet. Later, she started her own company called "Bandit Productions." She started it with director Rachid Bouchareb.
While she made some feature films and short films, Yamina Benguigui is most famous for her documentaries. These films were mostly released in the 1990s. She uses her movies to help different groups of people in France understand each other better. She shows the challenges that immigrants face when they move to a new country.
In 1994, her documentary Femmes d'Islam (Women of Islam) was shown on TV. After this, she decided to focus on the experiences of immigrants in France. She wanted to show their lives rather than just life in Algeria.
Famous Documentaries
Her next big documentary was called Mémoires d'immigrés, l'héritage maghrébin (Immigrant Memories, the Maghrebi Heritage). This film cost a lot of money to make. Yamina Benguigui interviewed 350 immigrants across France for this project. It took two years to get ready and nine months to edit. The film was first shown in May 1997. It received good reviews from critics.
In 2001, Benguigui made Inch’Allah dimanche (Inch'Allah Sunday). This movie looked closely at the role of women in a family's home. It focused on a young woman named Zouina and her family. Before this, many films made by men showed Algerian women as less important characters. Benguigui used her film to show these women as strong and complex. Zouina, for example, tries to find her own identity outside of strict family rules.
In 2021, she released a film called Soeurs (Sisters). This movie followed the lives of three sisters of Algerian origin living in France. Their lives change because of events like their father's illness and death.
Career in Politics
Yamina Benguigui also has a career in politics. In March 2008, she was elected to the Paris city council. She represented the 20th arrondissement of Paris. On the council, she worked on human rights and fighting against unfair treatment. She is connected to the Socialist Party.
In May 2012, the President of France, François Hollande, gave her an important job. She became the Junior Minister for French Nationals Abroad. She also worked on relations with La Francophonie. This term refers to all the French-speaking countries around the world.
In June 2012, Yamina Benguigui was confirmed as the Minister for La Francophonie in the French Government.
Filmography
- 1994: Femmes d'Islam
- 1997: Mémoires d'immigrés, l'héritage maghrébin (Immigrant Memories) – Director
- 2001: Pimprenelle, in Pas d'histoires! (Don't Make Trouble!) – Director and writer
- 2001: Inch'Allah Dimanche (Inch'Allah Sunday) – Director and writer
- 2003: Aïcha, Mohamed, Chaïb… Engagés pour la France)
- 2004: Le Plafond de verre (The Glass Ceiling) – Director and writer
- 2006: Les Défricheurs – Director
- 2007: Changer de regard - Portrait n° 5 – Director
- 2008: 9/3, mémoire d'un territoire – Director
- 2009-2012: Aïcha – Director
- 2019: Le Dernier poumon du monde – Director
- 2021: Soeurs
Awards
Yamina Benguigui has won several awards for her films.
Mémoires d'immigrés, l'héritage maghrébin
- Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels, Michel Mitrani prize
- San Francisco International Film Festival, Golden Gate Award
- 7 d'Or, Best Documentary (1997)
Inch'Allah Dimanche
- Amiens International Film Festival, OCIC Award and Prize of the City of Amiens (2001)
- Bordeaux International Festival of Women in Cinema, Audience Award and Golden Wave (2001)
- Cairo International Film Festival, Golden Pyramid (2001)
- International Film Festival of Marrakech, Golden Star (2001)
- Toronto International Film Festival, International Critics' Award (FIPRESCI) (2001)
Honours
- 2002: Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
- 2003: Knight of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur
- 2003: Il Sigillo della Pace Prize in Florence, for Lifetime Achievement.
- 2007: Officer of the National Order of Merit
