Who remembers Mohamed Zinet? In the eyes of French spectators who reserve his face and his frail silhouette, he is simply the “Arab actor” of French films of the 1970s, from Yves Boisset to Claude Lelouch. In Algeria, he's a completely different character... A child of the Casbah, he is the brilliant author of a film shot in the streets of Algiers in 1970, Tahya Ya Didou. Through this unique work, Zinet invents a new cinema, tells another story, shows the Algerians like never before. In the footsteps of his elder, in the alleys of the Casbah or on the port of Algiers, Mohammed Latrèche will retrace the story of Tahya Ya Didou and its director.
Boudjemaâ Karèche, born in 1941, is a law graduate from the Faculty of Algiers. Host of the Algerian Cinematheque since 1971, he was appointed director there from 1978 to 2003, succeeding its founder, Ahmed Hocine. This mecca of culture, debate and freedom, known to film buffs around the world, embraces the history of Algeria. Two private cinemas adjoin the cinema library. In 1995, in the midst of the civil war, bombs devastated them, causing eight deaths and many injured. The Algiers Cinematheque has never suspended a screening. In addition to his activity as a curator and his numerous participations on international festival juries, Boudjemaâ Karèche has made several appearances as an actor in films by Merzak Allouache ("The Adventures of a Hero", "The Man Who Watched the windows") and Mohamed Bouamari ("First Step"). In 2005, he published the book "Un Jour, Un Film" (Editions Jazz, Algiers), a collection of old articles written for the Algerian daily newspapers Le Matin and Liberté. In 2009, Boudjema Karèche published "Juste Un Mot", then in 2013 "L'Héritage Du Charbonnier", a story about the life and work of the Algerian filmmaker Mohamed Bouamari who died in 2006. In 2021, the “Cinéma Mémoire” collective is putting a series of master classes hosted by Boudjemaâ Karèche “Boudjemaâ Karèche: L’Instinct Du Cinéma” online on the Viméo platform.