Oldest Cannes Palme d'Or winner Hamina dies at 95
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina's 1967 film 'The Winds of the Aures' won the Best First Work award. (Photo by AFP)
ALGIERS : Mohammed Lakhdar Hamina, the first Arab and African director to win the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, has died aged 95, his family said yesterday.
The filmmaker was awarded the prize in 1975 for 'Chronicle of the Years of Fire', a historical drama about the Algerian war of independence.
His children said he passed away at his home in Algiers.
Hamina – who was the oldest living recipient of the Palme d'Or – competed four times in the festival on the French Riviera.
His 1967 film 'The Winds of the Aures' won the Best First Work award.
The struggle for Algeria's independence was at the heart of his most famous work, which in six chapters from 1939 to 1954 tells the story of a nation through its people, culminating in the uprising against French colonisation.
Born on Feb 26, 1934 in M'sila in the mountainous Aures region of northeast Algeria, Hamina was the son of modest peasants from the high plains.
He attended agricultural school, then studied in the southern French town of Antibes, just along the Mediterranean coast from Cannes, where he met his future wife.
The couple had four sons together.
During the Algerian war, his father was kidnapped, tortured and killed by the French army.
He was called up in 1958 and joined the Algerian resistance in Tunis.
He learned filmmaking on the job, through an internship with Tunisian newsreels before venturing into short films.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
UK backs Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, Lammy says
RABAT (Reuters) -Britain's foreign minister, David Lammy, said on Sunday that the UK considers Morocco's autonomy proposal as the most feasible basis to resolve the conflict over Western Sahara. The long-frozen conflict pits Morocco, which considers the territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario front, which seeks an independent state in the desert autonomy plan submitted by Morocco in 2007 stands "as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for a lasting resolution of the dispute," Lammy told reporters after talks with Morocco's foreign minister. "The UK will continue to act bilaterally, including economically, regionally and internationally in line with this position to support the resolution of the conflict," Lammy said on a visit to Rabat. The position places Britain as the third permanent U.N. Security Council member to endorse Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, following the United States and France. Morocco's foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, hailed the UK's position as historic, saying it was part of "a momentum to speed up the solution of the conflict."UK investments in the territory were under examination, Bourita said. The two countries signed deals to cooperate in healthcare, innovation, port and water infrastructure and procurement. Lammy said the deals would "ensure British businesses score big on football's biggest stage," as Morocco pushes for infrastructure investment in preparation for the 2030 World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal. (Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi, Editing by William Maclean)
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Oldest Cannes Palme d'Or winner Hamina dies at 95
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina's 1967 film 'The Winds of the Aures' won the Best First Work award. (Photo by AFP) ALGIERS : Mohammed Lakhdar Hamina, the first Arab and African director to win the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, has died aged 95, his family said yesterday. The filmmaker was awarded the prize in 1975 for 'Chronicle of the Years of Fire', a historical drama about the Algerian war of independence. His children said he passed away at his home in Algiers. Hamina – who was the oldest living recipient of the Palme d'Or – competed four times in the festival on the French Riviera. His 1967 film 'The Winds of the Aures' won the Best First Work award. The struggle for Algeria's independence was at the heart of his most famous work, which in six chapters from 1939 to 1954 tells the story of a nation through its people, culminating in the uprising against French colonisation. Born on Feb 26, 1934 in M'sila in the mountainous Aures region of northeast Algeria, Hamina was the son of modest peasants from the high plains. He attended agricultural school, then studied in the southern French town of Antibes, just along the Mediterranean coast from Cannes, where he met his future wife. The couple had four sons together. During the Algerian war, his father was kidnapped, tortured and killed by the French army. He was called up in 1958 and joined the Algerian resistance in Tunis. He learned filmmaking on the job, through an internship with Tunisian newsreels before venturing into short films.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Iran silent as dissident director wins Cannes' top prize
Jafar Panahi has been banned from filmmaking since 2010 and jailed multiple times. (AP pic) TEHRAN : Iranian authorities offered no reaction today after dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Cannes Film Festival's top prize for his political drama. Panahi, 64, was awarded the Palme d'Or last night for 'It Was Just an Accident' – a film in which five Iranians confront a man they believe tortured them in prison. A story inspired by his own time in detention, it had led critics' polls throughout the week at Cannes. The win has so far been met with silence from Iran's government and ignored by the state broadcaster, which instead focused on a state-aligned 'Resistance' film festival. The conservative Fars news agency suggested the jury's choice was politically motivated, saying it was 'not uninfluenced by the political issues surrounding Jafar Panahi inside Iran'. Reformist newspapers Etemad, Shargh and Ham Mihan reported the win on their websites but did not feature it on their front pages, possibly due to the timing of the announcement. Panahi, who has been banned from filmmaking since 2010 and jailed multiple times, addressed the Cannes audience with a call for national unity. He confirmed plans to return to Iran immediately. Asked last night if he feared arrest, he said: 'Not at all. Tomorrow we are leaving.' This marks only the second time an Iranian director has won the Palme d'Or, after the late Abbas Kiarostami received the honour for 'Taste of Cherry' in 1997. Both directors faced bans throughout their careers.
