Malek Bensmaïl

• Name — Malek Bensmaïl • Born — 1966 • Birthplace — Constantine, Algeria • Occupation — Film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and film producer • Language — French, Arabic • Notable Works — movies Des vacances, malgré tout / Despite all holidays (2001), Aliénations (2004), and La Chine est encore loin / China Is Still Far Away (2008).

Born in 1966 in Constantine, Algeria, Bensmaïl graduated in cinematography from the École supérieure d'études cinématographiques (ESEC Film School), Paris, in 1990, and did an internship with Lenfilm production company in Saint Petersburg.

Bensmaïl's films include: • Year — Film — Genre — Role — Duration (min) • 1990 — Roumanie, l'après Ceaucescu — Sociopolitical documentary on Romania after the fall of Ceaușescu in 1989 — Director • 1999 — Boudiaf, un espoir assassiné — Political documentary portrait of the assassinated Algerian politician Mohamed Boudiaf — Co-director with Noël Zurich — 58 m • 1999 — Territoire(s) — Political documentary short on the violence in the history of Algeria, inspired by Jacques Berque — Director, screenwriter, and producer — 28 m • 2001 — Des vacances, malgré tout / Despite all holidays — Documentary — Director and screenwriter — 70 m • 2001 — Démokratia — Political fiction short — Director and screenwriter — 17 m • 2004 — Aliénations — Documentary on everyday life in a psychiatric hospital — Director, screenwriter and cinematographer — 105 m • 2008 — La Chine est encore loin / China Is Still Far Away — Historical documentary on an Algerian village 54 years after the War of Independence — Director and screenwriter — 120 m • 2013 — Odysseys — Fiction comedy — Director, screenwriter and producer — 110 m • 2015 — Contre-Pouvoirs / Checks and Balances — Political documentary on the Algerian daily El Watan — Director, screenwriter, producer, and cinematographer — 97 m • 2017 — La Bataille d'Alger, un film dans l'Histoire / The Battle of Algiers: a Film Within History — Historical documentary on the movie The Battle of Algiers (1966) by Gillo Pontecorvo — Director, screenwriter and producer — 117 m • 2021 — Toute l'Algérie du monde — Documentary on Algeria's recent history — Director — 53 m

•. Aliénations (2004). Video duration 1h 42m 38s. Uploader imineo Documentaires, 2021. Entire film, voice-over in French. •. Video duration 53m 18s. Uploader R. Ourrad, 2023. Entire film, voice-over in French. •. Video duration 5m 2s. Uploader BFM Alsace, 2010. Bensmail explains his documentary China Is Still Far Away (2008) in French.