Mohamed Fellag (born 31 March 1950 in

Azeffoun Azeffoun, the classical antiquity, classical Rusazus and French Algeria, colonial PortGueydon, is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria, located on Cape Corbelin north-east of Tizi Ouzou. The economy of ...

Tizi Ouzou Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria, and capital of Tizi Ouzou Province and Tizi Ouzou District. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylia reg ...

) is an Algerian comedian, writer, humorist, and actor. In 1958, at the height of the

Algerian war of independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, his father took him and his younger brother, for their safety, to stay with an aunt in Beni-Messous (then a very small village near Algiers) where they went to primary school. He did his secondary studies in Tizi-Ouzou (Ecole Jeanmaire and CEG.) He entered the School of Dramatic Arts of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 1968 and stayed there for four years performing in several theatres throughout Algeria.

Career

From 1978 to 1985, he participated in several theatrical productions, before returning to Algeria in 1985 to join the National Theatre of Algeria to play the principal role in

Eduardo De Filippo Eduardo De Filippo OMRI (; 26 May 1900 – 31 October 1984), also known simply as ''Eduardo'', was an Italian actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright, best known for his Neapolitan language, Neapolitan works ''Filumena Marturano'' and ...

's production of L’Art de la Comédie. In 1986, he played in

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

's ''Le Costume Blanc Couleur Glace à la Noix de Coco'' and created ''Les Aventures de Tchop'', his first one-man show. He acted in a number of movies and TV shows during the period of turbulence in Algeria during the late 80s and early 90s. In 1989 he wrote the play ''Cocktail Khorotov'' and ''SOS Labès'' in 1990. He followed this in 1992 with ''Un bateau pour l'Australie-Babor Australia.'' In 1995, after a bomb explosion during one of his presentations, he moved first to

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 ...

and then to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. There he found success on stage with his plays that confronted the social difficulties of France. He has appeared in numerous films, particularly since 2005, including the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-nominated '' Monsieur Lazhar'', for which he won a Canadian

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Awards and prizes

* ''Prix du Syndicat de la Critique'' (Critics' Circle Award) – 1998 * '' Prince Claus Award'' - 1999 * ''

Raymond Devos Raymond Devos (; 9 November 1922 – 15 June 2006) was a French humorist, stand-up comedian and clown. He is best known for his sophisticated puns and surreal humour. Early life Devos was born in Mouscron, Belgium, close to the French border. ...

prize'' – 2003 * ''Prix de la SACD de la Francophonie'' – 2003

Plays

* ''Cocktail Khorotov'', 1989 * ''SOS Labes'', 1990 * ''Un Bateau pour l'Australie'', 1992 * ''Djurdjurassic Bled'', 1998 * ''La Casbah'', 2003 with Biyouna * ''Le Dernier chameau'', 2004. * ''L'ère des Ninjas et Djurdjurassic'' (''Les Dinosaures'') in the théâtre of gymnase Marie-Bell, 2007

Publications

*''Les Aventures de Tchop'', 1965 *''Cocktail Khorotov'', 1989 *''SOS Labes'', 1990 *''Le Balcon de Djamila'' *''Djurdjurassique bled'', 1999 *''Rue des petites daurades'', novel, 2001 *''C'est à Alger'', 2002 *''Comment réussir un bon petit couscous'', 2003 *''Le Dernier chameau'' *''L'Allumeur de Rêves Berbères'', 2007 *''Tous les Algériens sont des mécaniciens'', 2009

Filmography

*1983: ''Liberté, la nuit'', by Philippe Garrel *1986: ''Sombrero'' by Rabah Boubras *1988: ''El Khamsa'' by Belkacem Hadjadj *1989: ''Hassan Niya'' *1989: « Lumières « by Jean-Pierre Llido *1990: ''De Hollywood à Tamanrasset'' *1998: ''Le Gone du Chaâba'', by Christophe Ruggia *2001: ''Inch'Allah dimanche'', by

Yamina Benguigui Yamina Benguigui (born Yamina Zora Belaïdi; in Lille on 9 April 1955) is a French film director and politician of Algerian descent. She is known for her films on gender issues in the North African (both Berbers in France, Berbers and Arabs in F ...

*2002: ''Fleurs de sang'', by *2003: ''Momo mambo'', by

Laïla Marrakchi Laila Marrakchi (born 1975 in Casablanca) is a Moroccan film maker most famous for the controversial film '' Marock''. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival took p ...

*2005: ''Voisins, voisines'', by Malik Chibane *2005: ''Rue des figuiers'', by Yasmina Yahiaoui *2006: ''Michou d'Auber'', by Thomas Gilou *2007: '' L'Ennemi intime'', by Florent Emilio Siri *2009: ''

The Barons ''The Barons'' () is a 2009 Belgian comedy film directed by Nabil Ben Yadir. It was written by Yadir, Laurent Brandenbourger and Sébastien Fernandez. It premiered on 2 September 2009 at the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur. ...

'' *2010: '' Top Floor, Left Wing'' *2010: '' Bacon on the Side'' *2011: '' The Rabbi's Cat'', by

Joann Sfar Joann Sfar (; born 28 August 1971) is a French comics artist, comic book creator, novelist, and film director. Life and career Sfar was born in Nice, the son of Lilou, a pop singer, who died when he was three, and André Sfar, a lawyer well know ...

*2011: '' Monsieur Lazhar'', by Philippe Falardeau *2012: '' Zarafa'' by

Rémi Bezançon Rémi Bezançon (born 25 March 1971) is a French director and screenwriter. References External links * 1971 births Living people French male screenwriters French screenwriters Film directors from Paris French-language film di ...

and Jean-Christophe Lie *2012: '' What the Day Owes the Night'', by

Alexandre Arcady Alexandre Arcady (born 17 March 1947) is a French actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Alexandre Arcady was born in Algiers, Algeria. He emigrated to France at the age of fifteen. His son is filmmaker Alexandre Aja. ...

References

External links

Mohand's personal website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellag 1950 births Living people People from Azeffoun Kabyle people Algerian male comedians Algerian emigrants to France Algerian dramatists and playwrights Algerian male stage actors 20th-century Algerian male actors 21st-century Algerian male actors Algerian male film actors Algerian male television actors Algerian stand-up comedians Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners African comedians