Albert Samama Chikly (24 January 1872 – December 28, 1934), was a

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n filmmaker and photographer. Considered one of the earliest pillars in World Cinema, Albert was a photographer, filmmaker, technophile, adventurer, and cyclist.

Personal life

He was born on 24 January 1872 in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, Tunisia to a wealthy Tunisian Jewish family. His father David Samama, was a banker of the

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

who established a banking institution that later become the Bank of Tunisia. His mother was a housewife. Albert continued his studies with

Charles Lavigerie Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie, M. Afr. (31 October 1825 – 26 November 1892) was a French Catholic prelate and missionary who served as Archbishop of Carthage and Primate of Africa from 1884 to 1892. He previously served as Archbishop o ...

and then with the Jesuits in Marseille. He was a traveler that traveled to

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

, China and Australia frequently even at young age. He received his nickname 'Chikli' from the brotherhood of firefighters of the island of

Chikly Chikly () is a small island located in the northern part of Lake of Tunis which houses Fort Santiago Chikly, a former Roman citadel which was reconstructed by the Spanish Governor of Goletta, Luys Peres Varga, between 1546 and 1550. The fort ...

, a small island on Lake Tunis. He was married to Bianca Ferrero, an Italian-born woman from

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, who was a musician."Visionario Chikly, portò il cinema (e la bicicletta) agli africani" ''la Repubblica'' (11 July 2015) The couple had one daughter Haydée Tamzali. He later acquired French nationality. Albert died in 1934 in Tunis at the age of 62 and buried in the Jewish cemetery called the Borgel.

Career

In 1896, Albert returned to Tunisia and took the first cinematographic images with the help of photographer Soler. Accompanying the exhibition of

Auguste and Louis Lumière The Lumière brothers (, ; ), Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas Lumière (19 October 1862 – 10 April 1954) and Louis Jean Lumière (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1948), were French manufacturers of photography equipment, best known for their ' motion ...

, he broadcasts the films ''The Exit from the Lumière factory in Lyon'' and ''The Arrival of a train at La Ciotat station''. He continued to study the science and techniques of photography and cinematography and became the first person to introduce the bicycle and wireless telegraph in Tunisia. Later he introduced first X-ray machine in a Tunisian hospital. In 1908, Albert filmed aerial views using a balloon between

Hammam-Lif Hammam-Lif () is a coastal town about 20 km south-east of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been known since antiquity for its thermal springs originating in Mount Bou Kornine. History Naro, which means fire, was Hammam-Lif's Punic n ...

and Grombalia. He later filmed the 1908 earthquake in Messina and took probably the first underwater shot in 1909. In 1910, he filmed Tuna fishing in Tunisia under the patronage of

Albert I, Prince of Monaco Albert I (Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi; 13 November 1848 – 26 June 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 10 September 1889 until his death in 1922. He devoted much of his life to oceanography, exploration and science. Alongside his expeditions, ...

He developed a passion for documentaries and reporting where he began to cover events throughout Tunisia for the newspapers 'Le Matin' and 'L'Illustration'. In 1911, he was commissioned to cover the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

took place in

Tripolitania Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

. Then he produced documentary images, such as 'La Pêche aux éponges' or 'Trafic d'Armes off Douara'. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he joined the photographic and cinematographic section of the French armies and became one of the twelve reporters directed by

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

who filmed the trenches of the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

. In the 1920s he worked as the photographer and documentarian for travel magazines and tourist guides. In 1922 he was the cameraman in the film ''Tales of a Thousand and One Nights'' directed by Russian Victor Tourjanski. After spending many weeks among rural populations, Albert created the ''Encyclopedia in images of Tunisian life''. In 1922, Albert made his first short fiction film '' Zohra'' which is also the first Tunisian fiction film. The film received great success and was presented at the Omnia Pathé cinema in Tunisia on 21 December 1922. In the film, his daughter, Haydée Tamzali played the main role. Later she became ALbert's first female interpreter and screenwriter. Meanwhile, she becomes the first actress of the Arabian cinema. In 1923, he directed the film ''Ain el-Ghezal ou la fille de Carthage'', the first feature film directed by a Tunisian in Tunisian cinema history. It was produced with the support of Habib Bey.

Legacy

In 1996, the biographical short film ''Albert Samama Chikli, this wonderful madman filming with his funny machines'' was directed by Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud in honor of Albert Samama.

Filmography

Gallery

Samama Chickli.jpg, In his young age Zohra Albert Samama-Chikli.webm, ''Zohra'' film Samama Chikli atelier.jpg, ECPAD SPA-58-L-2747.jpg, Atelier de photographie médicale d'Albert Samama-Chikli - La Dépêche Tunisiennne.jpg Albert Samama bekijkt een skelet met een röntgentoestel, RP-F-2016-105-45.jpg

References

Wikipedia category

External links

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Albert Samama Chikly, Tunisian filmmaker (1924)

Tunisia

Albert Samama Chikly – Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé

Albert SAMAMA-CHIKLY alias : SAMAMA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samama Chikly, Albert 1872 births 1934 deaths Tunisian film directors Tunisian inventors Tunisian Jews Tunisian cyclists Jews and Judaism in Tunis Cinema pioneers