INTERNATIONAL FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL KÜSTENDORF | 17 - 23. 01. 2012.

Biography

Tahar Rahim

Tahar Rahim, a young French actor of Algerian descent, was born in 1981 in Belfort, in northeast France. He studied at Sports University in Strasbourg, followed by a year studying Computer Science at the University in Marseille, before studying film at the Paul Valéry University of Montpellier. His life as a film student was chronicled in a low-budget documentary, Tahar the Student (Tahar l’etudiant, 2005), directed by Cyril Mennegun, aired on French TV channel France 5 in 2006. Then, Rahim moved to Paris and studied drama. He spends nights at random jobs, working in a factory and night clubs, and days in acting school. Rahim’s first feature film was Inside (À l’intérieur, 2007) directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, starring Béatrice Dalle. After that, he starred in the French mini-series La commune, directed by Philippe Triboit.

In 2007, a fateful encounter with Jacques Audiard marked a turning point in his acting career. His performance in the lead role of Audiard’s A Prophet (Un Prophete) brought him international attention when the film premiered at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival. Rahim convinced the press and jury of his talent with this role and became the new promise of French cinema. The movie received acclaim and honors worldwide, including the Cannes Grand Prix award, the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film. For his performance Rahim earned two César Awards - Best Actor and Most Promising Actor and also won the European Film Award for Best Actor.

His films include The Eagle (2011) by Kevin Macdonald, Love and Bruises (2011) by controversial Chinese director Lou Ye, Free Men (2011) by Ismael Ferroukhi, and Black Gold (2011) by Jean-Jacques Annaud. 

A PROPHET
Tahar Rahim
France, Italy | 2009
Programme Date:
19.01.2012 Programme Time:
10.00

Synopsis

Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena, part Arab, part Corsican, cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang currently ruling the prison, he is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. Malik is a fast learner and rises up the prison ranks, all the while secretly devising his own plans…

A Prophet (Un prophète) is a 2009 French film, directed by Jacques Audiard. A Prophet won more than 30 awards, including the Grand Prix Prize at 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Awards:

2010    BAFTA Awards - BAFTA Film Award : Best Film Not in the English Language
2010    British Independent Film Awards - British Independent Film Award for Best Foreign Film
2010    César Awards, France – César for Best Actor: Tahar Rahim; César for Best Director: Jacques Audiard; César for Best Film; César for Best Writing – Original; César for Best Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine; César for Best Editing: Juliette Welfling; César for Best Production Design: Michel Barthélémy; César for Best Supporting Actor: Niels Arestrup; César for Most Promising Actor: Tahar Rahim
2010    Lumiere Awards, France - Lumiere Award for Best Director: Jacques Audiard; Lumiere Award for Best Actor: Tahar Rahim
2009    Cannes Film Festival - Grand Prize of the Jury
2009    European Film Awards - Prix d'Excellence; European Film Award for Best Actor: Tahar Rahim
2009    London Film Festival - Best Film

www.sonyclassics.com/aprophet

Director:
Jacques Audiard

Screenplay:
Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard; original screenplay by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit

Director of photography:
Stéphane Fontaine

Film Editing:
Juliette Welfling

Producers:
Lauranne Bourrachot, Martine Cassinelli, Pascal Caucheteux, Marco Cherqui, Antonin Dedet, Paolo Nino Cence

Production Companies:
Why Not Productions, Chic Films, Page 114, France 2 Cinéma, UGC Images, Bim Distribuzione, Celluloid Dreams

Cast:
Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem Yacoubi

Duration:
155`

Actors

  • MADAME BOVARY
    France | 1991
  • A PROPHET
    France, Italy | 2009
  • 17.02.2012

    • 10:30h
      3-IRON
      Kim Ki-duk
    • 12:30h
      ARRI ALEXA
      WORKSHOP
    • 16:30h
      OPENING CEREMONY
      Thierry Frémaux Presents
    • 20:00h
      ARIRANG
      Kim Ki-duk
      WORKSHOP - Kim Ki-duk - film director
    • 00:00h
      PELAGEYA
      Russia

    18.02.2012

    • 10:30h
      MADAME BOVARY
      Claude Chabrol
      WORKSHOP - Isabelle Huppert - actress
    • 17:00h
      4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH
      Abel Ferrara
      WORKSHOP - Abel Ferrara - film director
    • 21:00h
      TULIP, TEXAS AND US
      Lee Filipovski | Canada, Estonia 2011
      ---
      MOUSSA
      Christophe Nanga-oly | France 2010
      ---
      WE'RE GETTING THERE
      Marko Grba Singh -|Serbia 2011
      ---
      BARBAKAN
      Bartlomiej Zmuda | Poland 2011
      ---
      COUNTRYSIDE
      Yana Skopina & Eugene Kostkin | Russia
    • 00:00h
      THE ROSENBERG TRIO
      The Netherlands

    19.02.2012

    • 10:00h
      A PROPHET
      Jacques Audiard
      Tahar Rahim - actor
    • 13:00h
      A BETTER LIFE
      Cédric Kahn
    • 13:00h
      CHICKEN WITH PLUMS
      Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
      WORKSHOP - Marjane Satrapi - film director
    • 21:00h
      FIREWORKS
      Giacomo Abbruzzese | Italy, France 2011
      ---
      VANISHING
      Bartosz Kruhlik | Poland 2011
      ---
      BOYS, WHERE ARE YOU
      Jelena Gavrilović | Serbia 2011
      ---
      LUNCHBOX STORY
      Pieter Dirkx | Belgium 2010
    • 00:00h
      STRIBOR AND THE POISONERS
      Serbia

    20.02.2012

    • 10:30h
      BAD GUY
      Kim Ki-duk
    • 13:00h
      CORPO CELESTE
      Alice Rohrwacher
    • 17:00h
      NADER AND SIMIN, A SEPARATION
      Asghar Farhadi
      WORKSHOP - Leila Hatami - actress
    • 21:00h
      CABBAGEMINCER
      Vadim Viner | Russia 2011
      ---
      LEERFAHRT
      Matis Burkhardt | Germany 2009
      ---
      MADE OF ASHES
      Ognjen Glavonić | Serbia 2012
      ---
      THE SONG OF THE RAIN
      Aygul Bakanova | Kyrgyzstan, UK 2011
    • 00:00h
      ADAM STINGA
      Moldova

    21.02.2012

    • 10:30h
      LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
      Zoran Tairović
      ---
      BALKAN STAR
      Andrey Gligoryev
    • 13:00h
      SMALL TOWN
      Nuri Bilge Ceylan
      WORKSHOP - Nuri Bilge Ceylan - film director
    • 16:30h
      STOPPED ON TRACK
      Andreas Dresen
      WORKSHOP - Andreas Dresen - film director
    • 20:00h
      SMILE
      Gil González Penilla | Mexico 2011
      ---
      THE TRIP
      Simão Cayatte | USA, Portugal 2011
      ---
      MARINA
      Sonya Karpunina | Russia 2011
    • 00:00h
      BOBAN & MARKO MARKOVIC ORCHESTRA
      Serbia

    22.02.2012

    • 10:30h
      MILENA
      Čarna Radoičić
      ---
      HAPPY NOW
      Frederikke Aspöck
    • 13:00h
      NICOSTRATOS THE PELICAN
      Olivier Horlait
      WORKSHOP - Olivier Horlait - film director
    • 17:00h
      ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA
      Nuri Bilge Ceylan
    • 21:00h
      FRAGMENTS
      Ivan Stojiljković | Serbia, Germany 2011
      ---
      ALTO SAUCE
      Fernando Pomares | Spain 2011
      ---
      GLASGOW
      Piotr Subbotko | Poland 2010
      ---
      THE END OF THE WORLD
      Jani Bojadzi | Macedonia 2011
    • 00:00h
      SONIDO GALLO NEGRO
      Mexico

    23.02.2012

    • 10:30h
      DISTANT
      Nuri Bilge Ceylan
    • 13:00h
      MOZZARELLA STORIES
      Edoardo De Angelis
    • 17:00h
      OUT OF BOUNDS
      Frederikke Aspöck
      WORKSHOP - Frederikke Aspöck - film director
    • CLOSING CEREMONY AWARDS CEREMONY

    Coming soon!