Mohamed Lamine Merbah

Biography

Mohamed Lamine Merbah (often credited as Lamine Merbah) is an Algerian filmmaker born on July 28, 1946, in Tighennif (in the Mascara region) of Algeria. Married and a father of three, he is also the son of Moulay Merbah, a prominent figure in the Algerian national movement. Lamine Merbah completed his primary education in his hometown of Ksar Chellala (Tiaret Province) and his secondary education at the Bencheneb High School (Médéa Province). He subsequently joined the National Film Institute (INC) between 1964 and 1967 and worked as an intern at Polish Television in 1968. In 1969, he directed the film *Al Mountassar*, followed in 1971 by the feature film *La Mission*, which focused on a theme close to his heart: the dispossession of peasants' land and the "scorched earth" policy pursued by the French occupation army. He earned a degree in sociology from the University of Algiers in 1973. From 1970 onwards, he worked concurrently for the publishing house SNED and as a director for Algerian Radio and Television (RTA), directing the feature film *Les Spoliateurs* (1972), which dealt with the seizure of Algerian land by the French colonial administration. In 1977, he directed his second feature film, *Les Déracinés*, again addressing the themes of land dispossession and the exodus of Algerian peasants from the Ouarsenis mountains during the French occupation. In 1988, he became Director General of the National Audiovisual Production Company (ENPA), a position he held until 1995, when he fell ill and was bedridden for many years. In 1992, he directed *Radhia*, a film depicting an ideological rift within an Algerian family during the 1990s. In 2002, he returned to filmmaking to direct a TV series, *Le Miroir Brisé*. In 2003, he founded his own company, Amine Intaj, through which he produced several TV series, films, and documentaries. He returned to filmmaking in 2009 for the documentary *L'Afrique, des ténèbres à la lumière* (Africa: From Darkness to Light), created for the 2nd Pan-African Festival of Algiers (Panaf 2009). Mohamed Lamine Merbah passed away on ...on July 24, 2026, following a long illness. News of his passing, announced by his family, prompted numerous reactions and tributes from the Algerian film industry and press. Algeria’s Minister of Culture and Arts, Malika Bendouda, paid tribute to the exceptional career of an artist regarded as a pioneer of socially conscious cinema in Algeria; both a witness to and an active participant in his era, he leaves behind a legacy that continues to inspire many filmmakers and remains etched in the nation's memory.