Bachir Bensaddek

Bachir Bensaddek is a Canadian television director of Algerian Berber descent, best known for his co-direction of 2002 Emmy Award-winning TV series Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within.

Bachir Bensaddek
Born	Algeria
Occupation(s)	Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	2001–present

Born in Algeria in the year 1972, Bensaddek came to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1992 as a student before immigrating to Canada. Bensaddek wrote a play in 2004 entitled Montréal la blanche about Algerian immigrants in Quebec.

In May 2011, he released his documentary film Rap arabe, an ORBI-XXI production,^[1] covering the rap scene in three countries (Morocco, Lebanon, Syria) with a number of rappers including Malikah, Ashekman, Lil Zac and Don Bigg.^[2] It had its premiere at the 27th Festival international de cinéma Vues d'Afrique, and was rebroadcast on RDI, TV5^[3] and Al Jazeera's Documentary channel.

Filmography

• 2001: L'eau à la bouche (TV)
• 2001: Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within (TV series)
• 2005: Le Dernier cycle (web, short film)
• 2005: The girl who sleeps (film)
• 2006: Enfants de la balle (TV)
• 2007: Portrait de dame par un groupe (Documentary)
• 2008: Seules (TV)
• 2009: Pachamama (TV series)
• 2011: Rap arabe
• 2016: Montreal, White City (Montréal la blanche) (film)
• 2024: La femme cachée^[4]

Awards

• In 2003, the series he co-directed, Cirque du Soleil: Fire Within, won an Emmy Award.
• In 2007, his film Portrait de dame par un groupe won the "Prix AQCC" (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma) for "2007 Best Documentary Short".
• In 2011, his film Rap arabe won the "Prix ACIC / ONF" (National Film Board of Canada) for "Best Independent Production" in the section Regards d'ici.^[5]