Jihan El-Tahri
Jihan El-Tahri (born in Beirut, Lebanon) is a writer, director and producer of documentary films. She holds dual French and Egyptian nationalities. In 1984, she received her BA in political science, and in 1986 her MA in political science from the American University in Cairo.
Jihan El-Tahri
Walid Farouk · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Jihan El-Tahri
- Born
- 1963
- Birthplace
- Beirut
- Education
- American University in Cairo
- Occupation
- screenwriter, director, author
- Nationality
- Egypt · France
- Known for
- L'Afrique en morceaux · Cuba and an African Odyssey · Behind the Rainbow
- Languages
- French
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Jihan El-Tahri (born in Beirut, Lebanon) is a writer, director and producer of documentary films. She holds dual French and Egyptian nationalities. In 1984, she received her BA in political science, and in 1986 her MA in political science from the American University in Cairo.
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wikidata · Q3808279 · wikipedia · Jihan El-Tahri
In this article
Biography
Biography
She worked as a news correspondent with U.S. News & World Report and Reuters, TV researcher, and associate producer in Tunisia, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and Egypt between 1984 and 1990. In 1990, El-Tahri started directing and producing documentaries for French television, and for the BBC since 1995. In 1992 she filmed Osama bin Laden's training camps in Sudan. She also provided professional support on four of the Steps for the Future films in 2001. The documentary, The House of Saud, appeared on the BBC in 2004 and on PBS in 2005. Her most recent documentary, 'Behind the Rainbow', was screened during the 53rd BFI London Film Festival in 2009. She also worked with Ahron Bregman, an Israeli historian, on The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs in 1998.
Jihan El-Tahri attends the "Le Pays d'Arto" red carpet during the 78th Locarno Film Festival on August 06, 2025 in Locarno, Switzerland.
Segolene Liger
Director Jihan El-Tahri leaving the red carpet on 6th August at the 78th Locarno Film Festival
Kalai Ramu
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jihan El-Tahri • Born — 1963 • Birthplace — Beirut • Citizenship — French, Egyptian • Education — American University in Cairo • Occupation — screenwriter, director, author • Employer — BBC, Reuters
Identity
Identity
Jihan El-Tahri is recorded as journalist and film director.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2005
‘Power is in your own hands’: Why Jihan El-Tahri does not like movements. Interview with Jihan El-Tahri digitised by DataCite (Wits University Press).
Books
Books
• Les Sept Vies de Yasser Arafat (with Christophe Boltanski), Paris, 1997
Digitised editions and texts
Primary material
Digitised editions and texts
‘Power is in your own hands’: Why Jihan El-Tahri does not like movements.
Interview with Jihan El-Tahri (2005) — DataCite (Wits University Press)
Documentary Films
• The Koran and the Kalashnikov (2000) • L'Afrique en morceaux (2000) • The Price of Aid/Les maux de la faim (2003) • The House of Saud (2004) • Cuba, an African Odyssey (2007) • Behind the Rainbow (2009) • Egypt's Modern Pharaohs (2015)
Recognition and awards
In 2025, El-Tahri was appointed as a member of the jury at the 78th Locarno Film Festival for Pardi di Domani - Short Film Competition.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Claire Diao. Jihan El-Tahri, cinéaste du passé recomposé. Le Monde. 5 February 2016.
- 2.Thérèse-Marie Deffontaines et Mouna Naïm. L'imbroglio saoudien. Le Monde. 19 September 2004.
- 3.LFF programme. 21 September 2009.
- 4.Pierre Hazan. Le conflit israélo-arabe raconté par ceux qui ont fait son histoire. Le Temps. 27 May 1998.
- 5.Zegna-Rata, Olivier. L'Afrique en morceaux : une leçon d'histoire immédiate. Afrik. 23 February 2001.
- 6.El-Tahri, Jihan. Egypt's Modern Pharaohs. 2015.
- 7.Voir le c.r. de Marie-Lucy Dumas. In: Politique étrangère 62.2 (1997), p. 401.
- 8.Georg Szalai. Locarno Film Festival Adds Carlos Reygadas, Joslyn Barnes to Rithy Panh-Led Main Jury. The Hollywood Reporter. 15 July 2025.
References
Citations
References
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People, houses and institutions
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Born at
1- BeirutPlace
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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