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Hadj Ali Menad is one of the most renowned and acclaimed filmmakers in Algeria right now. But it was an extremely difficult task to reach where he has reached today.
Hadj spent his childhood on the other shore of the Mediterranean in Oran. And it is this very place where he discovered his passion for cinema. “I always wanted to be a director behind the camera but in Algeria, I had little hope to succeed and I got to the sport,” he says.
The co-director of the Algerian series Sultan Achour S3 how he got the idea of his first telefilm ‘The Unknown Hero’ after a meeting with a tele producer. What makes the telefilm a completely crazy bet is that the main character is a dog. While most of the filmmakers fear working with an animal, it was not a problem for Hadj Ali Menad. “I developed the scenario to make it more personal. I wanted to give this film a realistic side. When I was in Algeria, I learnt that there was another director on it but he was afraid to run an animal. I love dogs and know how to draw them up. As a result, instead of coaching an actor, I have a coach a dog” he laughs.
The telefilm turned out to be a success but also gave him a heartbreaking experience. Hadj Ali Menad says that the telefilm won an award of Arab Cinema in 2017 no one informed him about it. He kept receiving the messages of congratulations whole day without realising the reason. “I was in front of the television and I could see people take my trophy and money in my place. I did not receive anything. I cried like a child.” he recalls.
But the film’s success surely carved a path for his success and he got an opportunity to meet director and producer, Djaffar Gacem and Hadj worked for his film Heliopolis as a coach for the actors. Both of them worked together for Sultan Achour as well. “This series was an opportunity for me to exploit many possibilities. I spent a week with him to understand what he returned and took care of the second team on the third season,” he says.
