Biography

Damien Ounouri is a franco-algerian director and writer, born in Clermont-Ferrand (France) in 1982. He studied cinema theory at Sorbonne Nouvelle University of Paris. His graduation project Xiao Jia going home (2008), about the chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke, was selected in many international festivals. His first feature-length film, Fidaï (2012), a documentary about the Algerian Revolution, was presented at the Toronto Film Festival, before going worldwide, winning many prizes and getting theater releases in France and Germany. He is also known for his short film, Kindil El Bahr, which screened at Cannes in 2016 ; and his most recent, acclaimed, feature film The Last Queen, released in 2022. Damien Ounouri lives and works in Algiers.