Hassen Ferhani

Hassen Ferhani is an Algerian filmmaker, director, screenwriter and cinematographer, known particularly for his intimate documentary films about people, places and everyday life in Algeria. He was born in 1986 in Algiers, Algeria.

He became interested in cinema through a film club in Algiers, which he co-hosted from 2003 to 2008. He made his first short film, Les Baies d’Alger, in 2006, followed by Le Vol du 140 (2008) and the documentary Afric Hotel (2010). His first feature, Dans ma tête un rond-point (Roundabout in My Head), was released in 2015/2016 and received several festival awards.

His best-known film is ** 143 rue du désert (143 Sahara Street)**, a 2019 documentary about Malika, a woman running a small roadside café in the Algerian Sahara. Ferhani both directed and worked on the cinematography and editing. The film earned him the Leopard for Best Emerging Director at the 2019 Locarno Film Festival.