Hafid Aboulahyane

• Name — Hafid Aboulahyane • Born — c. 1978 • Birthplace — Les Ulis, Essonne, France • Occupation — Actor · Writer · Director · Producer • Years Active — c.1997–present • Known for — Founding production company Hafidgood; short films Le Poids du silence, Le Forum (2007), La Marche des crabes • Notable Works — Le Poids du silence; Le Forum (2007); La Marche des crabes (France/Morocco) • Website — http: www.hafidgood.com Hafid Aboulahyane (born c. 1978) is a French–Moroccan actor, writer, director and independent film producer from the Paris suburbs. He is known for several short films produced in the 2000s and early 2010s—including Le Poids du silence, Le Forum and La Marche des crabes—and for founding the independent production company Hafidgood.

Aboulahyane grew up in Les Ulis (Essonne) in a working-class family; according to a 2006 profile he is the son of a Renault factory worker and was raised in the housing estate known as the Bosquet. A theatre teacher noticed him at about age 13 during an improvisation match, an event that set him on a path toward acting. He completed secondary studies in Paris and worked odd jobs in his late teens and early twenties (including selling apartments and cars) before beginning a professional career in performance.

Aboulahyane's early professional break came after he was seen on stage by an agent and was cast in television (the Navarro series is mentioned in contemporaneous press). He subsequently pursued stage and screen work while moving into writing and producing his own short films. He wrote and starred in a short, Le Poids du silence, in which the veteran actor Jacques Weber appears as the lawyer of Aboulahyane's character; Weber reportedly donated several days of his time to the production. To gain creative control of his projects and finance his films, Aboulahyane founded the production company Hafidgood, investing his personal savings into the company. He has described running an independent production company as “a daily struggle.”

• Le Poids du silence — short film; writer and actor; Jacques Weber appears as the lawyer (director: David Benmoussa). • Le Forum (2007) — short film; writer / director / producer; received coverage in French independent press. • La Marche des crabes — short film (France / Morocco); shown in short-film competition programs and reviewed at FESPACO 2011.