Simone Bitton (; born January 3, 1955) is a French-Moroccan

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

. Her films have been nominated for or won the

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

, the Marseille Festival of Documentary Film Award, and the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, Special Jury Prize (for ''Mur'').

Personal life

Bitton was born the daughter of a Jewish jeweller in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. In 1966 she immigrated to Israel with her family and served in the IDF during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

. She describes herself as a Mizrahi Jew. After settling in

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 ...

, where she now mainly lives she graduated from the

Institut des hautes études cinématographiques The Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC; "Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies") is a French film school, founded during World War II under the leadership of Marcel L'Herbier who was its president from 1944 to 1969. ID ...

in 1981.French Protest of Israeli Raid Reaches Wide Audience
New York Times. 12 June 2010 In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Bitton signed an open letter published in ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the

2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip is a major part of the Gaza war. Starting on 7 October 2023, immediately after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel began bombing the Gaza Strip. On 13 October, Israel began ground operations in Gaz ...

, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.

Filmography

* 1981 : '' Solange Giraud, née Tache'' * 1990 : Great Voices of Arab Song * 1992 : Palestine: story of a land * 1996 : Umm Kulthum * 1997 : '' Palestine/israel, histoire d’une terre'' * 1998 : '' Ben Barka, l’équation marocaine'' * 1998 : '' Mahmoud Darwich'' * 1999 : Pigu'a / The Bombing * 2000 : ''

L'Attentat ''The Assassination'' () is a 1972 French-Italian political thriller film directed by Yves Boisset. Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Gian Maria Volonté, and Roy Scheider, it was released in the U.S. as ''The French Conspiracy''. The film wa ...

'' * 2001 : '' Citizen Bishara'' * 2004 : ''

Wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

(Mur)'' * 2009 : ''

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...

References

External links

* *
Filmfestivals.com

Fidmarseille.org
Moroccan film directors 20th-century Moroccan Jews French people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Moroccan emigrants to France French women film directors Israeli women film directors 1955 births Living people Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni {{France-film-director-stub