Yasmina and Mohammed

Algeria, Lebanon, France

Producers: Nizar Hassan

Production Company: Itar Productions

Project Logline:

Algerian novelist Yasmina Khadra is one of the most renowned French-language authors in the world. In 2000, the truth was revealed: Khadra is not a woman, but the pen name of Mohammed Moulessehoul, a commanding officer in the Algerian army. This documentary is a portrait of a complex man whose novels reflect his paradoxical country from the beginning of French colonization in 1830 to the present, telling the country’s story through the life and poetry of one its most distinguished writers.

Régine Abadia was born in Algeria in 1959. She has won several awards for her short fiction films and has directed many documentaries over the last 12 years. She is also a photographer and a scriptwriter with feature film director Jan Kounen. Her first feature film, A Strange Attraction, is currently in production. Her films include Jenny Bel’Air (2007), La Tête à l’envers (2005), The Spirit of Gospel (1998), The Creatures (1993)and Premier Outrage (1986), among others.