The Rooftops, by the Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache, part of the ADFF. Courtesy ADFF
The Rooftops, by the Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache, part of the ADFF. Courtesy ADFF
The Rooftops, by the Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache, part of the ADFF. Courtesy ADFF
The Rooftops, by the Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache, part of the ADFF. Courtesy ADFF

 behind the scenes

Here's what you need to know about the Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache, who is bringing his latest drama The Rooftops to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.

Alex Ritman

October 23, 2013

  • English
  • Arabic

The acclaimed Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache brings The Rooftops to Abu Dhabi for this year’s festival.

• Merzak Allouache has this year been named Variety’s Middle East Filmmaker of the Year, following in the footsteps of Yousry Nasrallah, Asghar Farhadi and Mohamed Al-Daradji.

• Allouache’s first feature, the gentle comedy Omar Gatlato, about male society in Algeria, came out in 1976.

• Allouache’s previous feature, The Repentant, about a young jihadist who receives amnesty, was screened at Cannes last year and took the Best Narrative Feature Film at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. While accepting the award, Allouache revealed he had funded The Repentant from the prize money he had won in Doha for his previous film, Normal.

• Allouache’s next project is to produce his daughter Bahia’s first feature, a ­“blistering comedy”.

• The Rooftops screens tomorrow at 9.15pm, Marina Mall Vox 5, and on Wednesday at 3.45pm, Vox 5

FilmAlgeriaFilm festivals