Farouk Beloufa

• Name — Farouk Beloufa • Born — 9 April 1947 • Birthplace — Oued Fodda, Algeria • Died — 9 April 2018 (aged 71) • Place of death — 10th arrondissement of Paris, France • Citizenship — Algerian • Occupation — Film director, screenwriter, film critic • Notable Works — Nahla (1979)

Farouk Beloufa was born in Oued Fodda in. He studied at the National Institute of Cinema (INC) in Algiers before going to France to pursue further studies at the Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies (Institut des hautes études cinématographiques) in Paris. Beloufa began his career as a critic before turning to directing. He also worked as a screenwriter and assistant on international productions, including collaborations with Youssef Chahine. In the 1970s, Beloufa directed several documentary and short films. One of his notable projects, Insurrectionnelle (1972), was censored and re-edited by the authorities at the time, leading to a released version without his signature. He also collaborated as a screenwriter on other regional projects; he was credited as a co-writer on Youssef Chahine’s film Le Retour de l’enfant prodigue (The Return of the Prodigal Son). His only film, Nahla (1979), shot primarily in Beirut, deals with the Lebanese Civil War through the eyes of politically and culturally engaged characters. The film was selected for competition at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival (1979), where the lead actress, Yasmine Khlat, won the Best Actress award. Nahla has been screened again as part of various retrospectives and special programs.

• 1960: Situation de transition (short film) — mentioned in some sources as a student work (copies lost). • 1972: Insurrectionnelle (documentary) — partially censored and re-edited. • 1979: Nahla (feature film) — director and screenwriter.