GATLIF, TONY

(1948- )

Actor, composer, director, producer, and screenwriter. Tony Gatlif was born Michel Dahamani in Algeria. He is of gypsy origin. He moved to France in 1960, where he studied drama and, like many directors of the period, attended ciné-clubs. He debuted in cinema in the mid-1970s, and his first feature wasLa tête en ruines(1975). He also worked as an actor and screenwriter for Eric Le Hung's 1975La rage au poing(1975). In 1979, he releasedLa Terre au ventre, a feature film set during the Algerian War. His gypsy heritage and his transnationality have influenced several of his films, including the shortCorre gitano(1982), the documentaryLatcho drom(1993), and the featuresMondo(1996),Gadjo Dilo(1997), andExils(2004).While he often works with nonprofessional actors, Gatlif has directed several French stars. He directedGérard DepardieuinRue du départ(1986),Fanny ArdantinPleure pas,my love(1987), and Vincent Lindon inGaspard et Robinson(1990).

As noted, many of Gatlif's films have centered on gypsy music, gypsy culture, and the social position of gypsies as outside of every culture in which they find themselves. Through these films, Gatlif illuminates historic and contemporary struggles with discrimination and persecution.Les Princes(1983), the first in Gatlif's "gypsy trilogy," exposes the hardships faced by gypsy communities in Parisian suburbs.Latcho Drom, the second work in the trilogy, portrays diasporic gypsies in India, Egypt, and Europe. The documentary is unique in its foregrounding of music and its absence of voice-over narration. It won the Un Certain Regard Award at theCannes International Film Festival. The third part of the trilogy,Gadjo Dilo, a feature that offers a critical look at European commodification of Roma culture and the violent treatment of gypsies in Romania, won a Silver Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. It stars Romain Duris, who also appeared in Gatlif'sJe suis né d'une cigogne(1999) andExils. Although not considered part of his trilogy,Mondofocuses on a homeless gypsy child in Southern France. Gatlif'sSwing(2002) revisitsGadjoDilo's story of a French protagonist who is fascinated with gypsy music; however, in this film, the focus is the Manouche in France.

Gatlif has won prestigious awards for his music: bothGadjo DiloandVengo(2000), a drama about flamenco, wonCésar Awardsfor Best Musical Composition. In 2004, Gatlif won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival forExils. Like his previous films,Exilscontemplates experiences of exile and nomadism as it narrates the journey of protagonists who travel from France to Algeria to discover part of their heritage. Gatlif has been praised by critics across cultures for his sensitive and affectionate portrayals of gypsies and his moving celebrations of cosmopolitan gypsy music.