Tony Gatlif

Born in Algiers in 1948, Tony Gatlif is of mixed Algerian and Romani descent. In 1960, he left his native Algeria for France during the Algerian War. His passion for cinema saved him from turning to petty crime as a teenager. In 1975, he made his first film “La Tête en ruine” followed by “La Terre au ventre”, which tells the story of the Algerian War. In 1981, he began a series of films paying tribute to his gypsy roots, starting with “Corre Gitano”, and a trilogy made up of “Princes”, “Latcho Drom”, and “Gadjo Dilo”, starring Romain Duris and Rona Hartner. It marked the start of a long collaboration between Gatlif and Duris, who also played in “Je suis né d'une cigogne” and “Exils”, for which Gatlif won the Best Director Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. After this, Gatlif continued his journey exploring new lands in “Transylvania”, “Liberté” and “Geronimo”. Having spent many years looking at the destiny of gypsies, he then made “Indignados”, a film devoted to Europe’s Indignés or Outraged/Occupy movement. His latest film “Djam” was released in 2017.