Mehdi Barsaoui

Last updated
Mehdi Barsaoui
Born
Mehdi M. Barsaoui

(1984-05-23) May 23, 1984 (age 40)
Nationality Tunisian
Alma materHigher Institute of Multimedia Arts of Tunis
DAMS
Occupation(s)Director, screenwriter, cinematographer, poet
Years active2010–present
Notable workA Son

Mehdi M. Barsaoui (born 23 May 1984), is a Tunisian filmmaker. [1] He is best known as the director of the critically acclaimed feature film A Son (2019) and shorts Sideways (2010) and Bobby (2014). [2] [3]

Contents

Personal life

He was born on 23 May 1984 in Tunis, Tunisia. He graduated from the Higher Institute of Multimedia Arts of Tunis (ISAMM). After graduation, he moved to Italy and completed his training and graduated from DAMS in Bologna. [4]

Career

During the life in Italy, he directed three short films: Sideways (2010), Bobby (2014) and We Are Just Fine Like This (2016). All three short film received critical acclaim and then selected in several international festivals where they won several prizes. The short We Are Just Fine Like This won the Best Muhr Short award at the Dubai International Film Festival. [5]

In 2019, he made his directorial debut with the film, Un fils (A Son) which was produced as a collaborative work of Tunisia, France, Lebanon and Qatar. The film had its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival. [6] The film received official selection at the Venice Film Festival 2019, where Sami Bouajila won the award for best actor in the Orizzonti section. At the Filmfest Hamburg, the film won the NDR Young Talent Award. The film also received critical acclaim. [7] In 2020, the film won Prabhat International Award at Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). [8]

Filmography

YearFilmRoleGenreRef.
2010SidewaysDirector, editor, writerShort film
2012It Was Better TomorrowEditorDocumentary
2012WidjèneEditorDocumentary
2013Le Challat de TunisFirst assistant directorDocumentary
2014BobbyDirector, editor, writerShort film
2016We Are Just Fine Like ThisDirector, editor, writerShort film
201735 MMDirector, editor, writerShort film
2017Beauty and the DogsFirst assistant directorFilm
2018OmertàEditorShort film
2019 A Son Director, writerFilm

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venice Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Venice, Italy

The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the "Big Five" International film festivals worldwide, which include the Big Three European Film Festivals, alongside the Toronto Film Festival in Canada and the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. These festivals are internationally renowned for giving creators the artistic freedom to express themselves through film. In 1951, FIAPF formally accredited the festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lav Diaz</span> Filipino film director (born 1958)

Lavrente Indico Diaz is a Filipino independent filmmaker and former film critic. He is frequently known as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement, and has made several of the longest narrative films on record. Diaz is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary Filipino filmmakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">65th Venice International Film Festival</span>

The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 27 August 2008 by Burn After Reading, and closed on 6 September 2008. International competition jury, led by Wim Wenders, awarded Golden Lion to The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tannishtha Chatterjee</span> Indian film actress and director

Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in several Hindi and English independent films. For her performance in the film Dekh Indian Circus, she won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention . In 2019 she directed her first feature film Roam Rome Mein which screened at Toronto International Film Festival. Chatterjee's performance in the German film Shadows of Time earned her critical acclaim. It took her to international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">67th Venice International Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from 1 to 11 September 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was the head of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, and the closing film was Julie Taymor's The Tempest. John Woo was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement prior to the start of the Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pablo Larraín</span> Chilean filmmaker (born 1976)

Pablo Larraín Matte is a Chilean filmmaker. He is known for films such as No (2012), Neruda (2016), Jackie (2016), and Spencer (2021). In 2017, Larraín and his brother Juan de Dios co-produced Sebastián Lelio's A Fantastic Woman, which was the first Chilean film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2021, Larrain directed the psychological romance horror miniseries Lisey's Story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gianfranco Rosi (director)</span> Italian documentary filmmaker

Gianfranco Rosi is an Italian-American documentary filmmaker. His 2013 film Sacro GRA won the Golden Lion at the 70th Venice Film Festival, while his 2016 film Fire at Sea won the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin Film Festival. Rosi is the only documentary filmmaker to win two highest awards at the three major European film festivals and is the only director besides Michael Haneke, Ang Lee, Ken Loach, and Jafar Panahi to do so in the 21st century.

The Pune International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at NFAI, Inox, City Pride, PVR cinema halls, all located in Pune city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyla Bouzid</span> Tunisian screenwriter and film director

Leyla Bouzid, is a Tunisian screenwriter and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taïeb Louhichi</span> Tunisian film director (1948–2018)

Taïeb Louhichi was a Tunisian film director, screenwriter, producer and filmmaker. His best known works include his debut feature film, Shadow of the Earth (1982), Layla, My Reason (1989), and La Danse Du Vent (2004).

<i>Arab Blues</i> 2019 film

Arab Blues is a 2019 French-Tunisian comedy film directed by Manele Labidi Labbé in her feature debut. It was screened in the Venice Days section at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and then in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. The film is about a Tunisian psychoanalyst Selma who, after having been educated in Paris, moves back to Tunisia to open a psychoanalytic practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Najla Ben Abdallah</span> Tunisian model and actress

Najla Ben Abdallah, is a Tunisian actress, model and flight attendant who played Feriel in the Tunisian series Maktoub. She has appeared in several films including Un fils Mehdi M. Barsaoui's film. Najla has also appeared in several television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">77th Venice International Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdelhamid Bouchnak</span> Tunisian filmmaker

Abdelhamid Bouchnak, is a Tunisian filmmaker. He is best known as the director of Tunisian horror film Dachra.

Mohamed Habib Attia, is a Tunisian film producer. He is best known as the producer of critically acclaimed films Falastine Stereo, It Was Better Tomorrow and Le Challat de Tunis.

Mehdi Hmili, is a Tunisian filmmaker. He is best known as the director of critically acclaimed shorts and feature films Thala My Love, The Night of Badr and Li-La.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghanem Zrelly</span> Tunisian actor

Ghanem Zrelly, is a Tunisian actor. He is best known for the roles in the films Thala My Love, Day of the Falcon, Beauty and the Dogs and In Paradox.

A Son, also known as Bik Eneich: Un fils is a 2019 film directed by Mehdi Barsaoui in his feature film debut and co-produced between France, Lebanon, Tunisia and Qatar. Starring Sami Bouajila and Najla Ben Abdallah as middle-class Tunisian parents, film is about a family trip soon after the Tunisian Revolution that is disrupted after terrorists shoot their car and gravely injure their son, who needs a liver transplant to survive.

Zanka Contact is a 2020 Moroccan film directed by Ismael El Iraki. Described as a Wild at Heart-type love story with debts to Quentin Tarantino and Sergio Leone, the film was inspired by El Iraki's emotional journey and recovery after he found himself in the midst of the horrors of the 2015 Bataclan attacks in Paris. Following a screening at the 77th Venice International Film Festival where the film's lead actress, Moroccan singer Khansa Batma, won the Venice Orizzonti Award for Best Actress, the film went on to be selected for over thirty international festivals and won several awards through its festival run 2020 to 2022. Among them, Zanka Contact was awarded the Golden Tutankhamun Award for best feature film at the Luxor African Film Festival.

Mehdi Ben Attia is a Tunisian film director, screenwriter and actor.

References

  1. "Mehdi M. Barsaoui: 1er assistant réalisateur, Assistant réalisateur, Monteur". allocine. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. "BIK ENEICH - UN FILS: Orizzonti". labiennale. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  3. "'A Son' ('Bik Eneich'/'Un fils'): Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. "Mehdi M. Barsaoui". IFFR. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. "Venice Film Festival 2019: 'A Son' raises the issues of modern-day Tunisia". The National News. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  6. "MEHDI M. BARSAOUI: DIRECTOR, TUNISIA". Festival Marrakech. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  7. "Film Review: 'A Son'". Variety. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  8. "18th edition of PIFF: Tunisian family drama a Son wins best film award". 17 January 2020.