Akim Isker
Akim Isker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1978 (age 45–46) Algiers, Algeria |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Actor |
| Years active | 2000-present |
Akim Isker is a French film director and actor. He directed the 2022 supernatural drama Visions.
Early life and education[edit]
Akim Isker was born in Algiers in 1978, the youngest of three boys. When he was four, the family moved to Villeurbanne, near Lyon, before returning to Algeria around 1988. When the 1988 October Riots broke out, the family returned to live with their maternal grandparents, who worked in a Renault factory, in Malakoff. The family tried again to return to Algeria, but then settled first in Montrouge and then in Évry when Akim was in his teens.[1]
He attended the Lycée du Parc des Loges (senior high school) in Évry-Courcouronnes, in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, in the 1990s.[2]
From a young age he had admired his great-uncle Abder Isker, the first Algerian director whose work was screened on French television, and the 1976 film Taxi Driver by Martin Scorcese impressed him. He enrolled at university to study film (his parents being unable to afford private film school), but dropped out after finding too much focus on New Wave cinema and fantasy.[1]
Career[edit]
After entering the industry "through the back door" as an actor, starring in a number of short films and telemovies between 2000 and 2009, Isker was offered an opportunity to work as assistant director on the 2001 TV series P.J. (Police judiciaire) by Gérard Vergez. Aged only 22, he refused at first, but then accepted and followed Vergez's advice.[1] He served as assistant director in five episodes, and acted in one, P.J., which starred Bruno Wolkowitch (1997–2009), and also served as assistant director for three other films (2000, 2006, 2011).[3]
Isker's debut feature as director was the comedy/action film La Planque (2011).[4] The film was produced with the Alakis' association, a collective of actors, screenwriters, and directors founded in 2005 by Jalil Naciri in Ile-Saint-Denis.[1] In the 2013 short film J'mange pas de porc (I Don't Eat Pork), he explores his cultural identity, as a Muslim with Algerian roots in France.[1]
In 2017, Isker directed the television series Ben for France Télévisions, with filming taking place in and around the city of Nantes.[5] Ben was released in 2018.[6][7]
In 2020, Isker directed the detective telemovie Faux-semblants (Copy Cat[8]), starring Thierry Godard and Noémie Schmidt.[9][10] After being released in Belgium, it won Best Telemovie at the 25th edition of the Festival Polar de Cognac in 2020.[11]
His 2021 telemovie Nobody's Child (L'Enfant de personne), was based on a true story of a child called Lyes Louffok who was shuffled around foster families and residential care, being poorly treated. He later became an activist and wrote of his experiences in Dans l'enfer des foyers (In the Hell of Homes). The film, which tells the story from the child's point of view, was broadcast on France 2 in November 2021.[12] Nobody's Child starred Isabelle Carré.[13] After the film was aired on TV, a live debate in which Lyes Louffok participated, took place on air. The three young actors playing the role of Louffok at different ages, Moncef Farfar, Yassine Chorfa, and Abdelmadjid Guemri, won the Jeune espoir masculin (Young Male Hope) prize at the Festival de la Fiction at La Rochelle.[14]
The 2022 TV series Visions, starring Louane Emera and Soufiane Guerrab, is a supernatural/crime drama, centred around a young body who has visions relating to people who have died.[15]
In 2024, Tout le monde ment 2 (Everyone lies 2), directed by Isker and starring Vincent Elbaz, was released on France 2.[16][17]
Other activities[edit]
In January 2023, Isker visited his old school, Lycée du Parc des Loges, under a government scheme to associate artists with high schools, in order to bring younger generations closer to creation, art, and culture, and to increase their awareness of creative professions.[2]
Awards[edit]
- 2021: Best Film, Festival de la Fiction, La Rochelle, for Nobody's Child[13][18]
- 2021: Prix Europa for best feature film, for Nobody's Child[19]
- 2022: Best Director, Seoul International Drama Awards, for Nobody's Child[20]
- 2022: Prix Média Enfance Majuscule, for Nobody's Child[21]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Diao, Claire (12 October 2012). "Akim Isker, cinéaste entre deux terres". Bondy Blog (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Evry-Courcouronnes : le réalisateur Akim Isker de retour dans son lycée pour sensibiliser les élèves à l'art". Le Républicain (in French). 27 January 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Akim Isker at IMDb
- ^ "La Planque". AlloCiné (in French). 29 July 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "La série "Ben" cherche toujours des figurants à Nantes". Ouest-France.fr (in French). 14 April 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Ben (TV Miniseries) (2018)". FilmAffinity. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "BEN". Association des décoratrices et décorateurs de cinéma (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ Copy Cat at IMDb
- ^ "Faux-semblants Faux semblants". Faux-semblants (in French). 14 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ ""Faux semblants" sur France 2 avec Thierry Godard et Noémie Schmidt". Bulles de Culture (in French). 14 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "25e Polar à Cognac : "Faux-semblants" décroche le Prix du meilleur téléfilm". SudOuest.fr (in French). 18 October 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Soenen, Marie-Hélène (15 November 2021). ""L'Enfant de personne" sur France.tv : "Pour ce film, j'ai privilégié le point de vue de l'enfant", Akim Isker". Télérama (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ a b Collet, Emeline (20 September 2021). "Festival de la fiction de La Rochelle : les femmes et les enfants d'abord". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Durand, Catherine (15 November 2021). ""L'enfant de personne", un téléfilm pour raconter "l'enfer des foyers"". Marie Claire (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ Collet, Emeline (23 May 2022). ""Visions" : qui est Léon Durieux, le jeune comédien de 9 ans qui partage l'affiche avec Louane sur TF1 ?". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Corteilles, Isabelle (14 March 2024). "Audience Tout le monde ment 2 (France 2 – 2024) avec Vincent Elbaz : résumé et critiques de la presse". Nouveautés-Télé.com. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Tout le monde ment 2". AlloCiné (in French). 5 March 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ Frédéric Zabalza - f.zabalza@sudouest.fr (19 September 2021). "Festival de la fiction de La Rochelle : un Grand Prix pour une grande cause". SudOuest.fr (in French). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "L'enfant de personne". FranceTvPro.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Winners of the '2022 Seoul International Drama Awards'!". allkpop. 25 September 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Prix Média Enfance Majuscule 2022 : Les enfants placés, victimes de guerre et de violences sexuelles sont au cœur de cette 10ème édition". Enfance Majuscule (in French). 10 June 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024 – via Wikiwix[archive].
External links[edit]
- Akim Isker at IMDb
- Akim Isker on AlloCiné