Tony Gatlif

Tony Gatlif

Birth : 1948-09-10, Algiers

History

Gatlif was born in Algiers to a Kabyle father and a Romani mother.  After his childhood there, Gatlif arrived in France in 1960 following the Algerian War of Independence. Gatlif struggled for years to break into the film industry, playing in several theatrical productions until directing his first film, La Tête en ruine, in 1975. He followed it with the 1979 La Terre au ventre, a story of the Algerian War of Independence. Since the 1981 Corre, gitano, Gatlif's work has been focused on the Romani people of Europe, from whom he partially traces his descent. After making Gaspard et Robinson in 1990, Gatlif spent 1992 and 1993 shooting Latcho Drom, which was awarded numerous prizes. This feature-length musical film, often mislabelled as a documentary, deals with gypsy culture throughout the world around the theme of their music and dance. For Vincent Ostria, then journalist at the Cahiers du Cinéma, it was "the most genuine film of the year (1993 editor's note)." A year later, Gatlif brought the world of the author J. M. G. Le Clézio (pen-name) to the screen in Mondo (1994). His 2004 film Exils, won the Best Director Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.  His film Transylvania also premiered at Cannes in May 2006.

Profile

Tony Gatlif

Movies

Tom Medina
Producer
Tom Medina is sent by a juvenile judge to the Camargue, to live with Ulysses, a kind-hearted man in tune with nature. Inhabited by visions, fascinated by bulls and horses, Tom learns the trade of a herdsman at Ulysses’ side. He no longer steals and now thirsts for knowledge and aspires to become someone else. Revolted by the hostility which does not change towards him, he fights against his destiny and crosses the road of Suzanne…
Tom Medina
Original Music Composer
Tom Medina is sent by a juvenile judge to the Camargue, to live with Ulysses, a kind-hearted man in tune with nature. Inhabited by visions, fascinated by bulls and horses, Tom learns the trade of a herdsman at Ulysses’ side. He no longer steals and now thirsts for knowledge and aspires to become someone else. Revolted by the hostility which does not change towards him, he fights against his destiny and crosses the road of Suzanne…
Tom Medina
Writer
Tom Medina is sent by a juvenile judge to the Camargue, to live with Ulysses, a kind-hearted man in tune with nature. Inhabited by visions, fascinated by bulls and horses, Tom learns the trade of a herdsman at Ulysses’ side. He no longer steals and now thirsts for knowledge and aspires to become someone else. Revolted by the hostility which does not change towards him, he fights against his destiny and crosses the road of Suzanne…
Tom Medina
Director
Tom Medina is sent by a juvenile judge to the Camargue, to live with Ulysses, a kind-hearted man in tune with nature. Inhabited by visions, fascinated by bulls and horses, Tom learns the trade of a herdsman at Ulysses’ side. He no longer steals and now thirsts for knowledge and aspires to become someone else. Revolted by the hostility which does not change towards him, he fights against his destiny and crosses the road of Suzanne…
Journey from Greece
Writer
Djam, a young Greek woman, is sent to Istanbul by her uncle Kakourgos, a former sailor with a passion for Rebetiko, to find a rare part that will repair their boat. In Istanbul, she encounters Avril, a nineteen-year-old French girl, alone and without any money, who came to Turkey as a voluntary worker with refugees. Djam, generous, cheeky, unpredictable, and free-spirited, takes Avril under her wing on the way to Mytilene. A journey filled with encounters, music, sharing, and hope.
Journey from Greece
Director
Djam, a young Greek woman, is sent to Istanbul by her uncle Kakourgos, a former sailor with a passion for Rebetiko, to find a rare part that will repair their boat. In Istanbul, she encounters Avril, a nineteen-year-old French girl, alone and without any money, who came to Turkey as a voluntary worker with refugees. Djam, generous, cheeky, unpredictable, and free-spirited, takes Avril under her wing on the way to Mytilene. A journey filled with encounters, music, sharing, and hope.
Winter Song
Le Truand
A deadpan, picaresque buddy comedy about two old friends through a series of urban adventures, loosely connected by the skull of an executed French aristocrat. Winter Song is a typically irreverent Iosselianian jaunt through a classy Paris apartment block contemplating the past, present and future.
Geronimo
Writer
South of France. In the sultry August heat, Geronimo, a young social educator, tries to ease tensions between the youngsters of the St Pierre neighborhood. The mood changes when Nil Terzi, a teenage girl of Turkish origin, flees an arranged marriage, running to the arms of her gypsy lover, Lucky Molina. Their escape sparks hostilities between the two clans. When the jousting and the musical battles begin, Geronimo struggles to quell the ensuing unrest around her.
Geronimo
Director
South of France. In the sultry August heat, Geronimo, a young social educator, tries to ease tensions between the youngsters of the St Pierre neighborhood. The mood changes when Nil Terzi, a teenage girl of Turkish origin, flees an arranged marriage, running to the arms of her gypsy lover, Lucky Molina. Their escape sparks hostilities between the two clans. When the jousting and the musical battles begin, Geronimo struggles to quell the ensuing unrest around her.
The Outraged
Director
Documentary about the protest movement that swept across Europe in 2011, from the point of view of an illegal immigrant about his experiences in the movement.
The Outraged
Executive Producer
Documentary about the protest movement that swept across Europe in 2011, from the point of view of an illegal immigrant about his experiences in the movement.
Freedom
Producer
A Gypsy family travels the French roads during the Second World War, followed by Little Claude, a young boy seeking a new family after his parents "left and never returned". Upon reaching a town where they traditionally stop for a few months and work in vineyards, they learn that a new law forbids them from being nomadic. Theodore, the town's mayor, and Miss Lundi, the schoolteacher, protect and help the Gypsies. Despite this, They are arrested and placed in an internment camp. Theodore manages to rescue them and gives them a piece of property where they must settle. But the Gypsies' deeply ingrained thirst for freedom makes this sedentary lifestyle difficult to bear. After Theodore and Miss Lundi are arrested for resistance, the Gypsies decide they must get back on the move in order to remain free.
Freedom
Writer
A Gypsy family travels the French roads during the Second World War, followed by Little Claude, a young boy seeking a new family after his parents "left and never returned". Upon reaching a town where they traditionally stop for a few months and work in vineyards, they learn that a new law forbids them from being nomadic. Theodore, the town's mayor, and Miss Lundi, the schoolteacher, protect and help the Gypsies. Despite this, They are arrested and placed in an internment camp. Theodore manages to rescue them and gives them a piece of property where they must settle. But the Gypsies' deeply ingrained thirst for freedom makes this sedentary lifestyle difficult to bear. After Theodore and Miss Lundi are arrested for resistance, the Gypsies decide they must get back on the move in order to remain free.
Freedom
Director
A Gypsy family travels the French roads during the Second World War, followed by Little Claude, a young boy seeking a new family after his parents "left and never returned". Upon reaching a town where they traditionally stop for a few months and work in vineyards, they learn that a new law forbids them from being nomadic. Theodore, the town's mayor, and Miss Lundi, the schoolteacher, protect and help the Gypsies. Despite this, They are arrested and placed in an internment camp. Theodore manages to rescue them and gives them a piece of property where they must settle. But the Gypsies' deeply ingrained thirst for freedom makes this sedentary lifestyle difficult to bear. After Theodore and Miss Lundi are arrested for resistance, the Gypsies decide they must get back on the move in order to remain free.
Transylvania
Music
Zingarina arrives in Transylavania, accompanied by her close friend Marie and her guide and interpreter Luminitsa. She is not there only to visit this region of Romania but to trace her lover Milan, a musician who has made her pregnant and who left her without a word of explanation. When she finds him back, he brutally rejects her and Zingarina is terribly upset. She leaves her two companions and having become a wreck she hardly survives by following a wandering little girl. Her destiny changes for the best when she meets Tchangalo, a traveling trader...
Transylvania
Writer
Zingarina arrives in Transylavania, accompanied by her close friend Marie and her guide and interpreter Luminitsa. She is not there only to visit this region of Romania but to trace her lover Milan, a musician who has made her pregnant and who left her without a word of explanation. When she finds him back, he brutally rejects her and Zingarina is terribly upset. She leaves her two companions and having become a wreck she hardly survives by following a wandering little girl. Her destiny changes for the best when she meets Tchangalo, a traveling trader...
Transylvania
Director
Zingarina arrives in Transylavania, accompanied by her close friend Marie and her guide and interpreter Luminitsa. She is not there only to visit this region of Romania but to trace her lover Milan, a musician who has made her pregnant and who left her without a word of explanation. When she finds him back, he brutally rejects her and Zingarina is terribly upset. She leaves her two companions and having become a wreck she hardly survives by following a wandering little girl. Her destiny changes for the best when she meets Tchangalo, a traveling trader...
Exiles
Music
One day Zano suggest a crazy idea to his companion Naïma: travel across France and Spain down to Algeria, where they might ultimately come to know the land their parents once had to flee.
Exiles
Producer
One day Zano suggest a crazy idea to his companion Naïma: travel across France and Spain down to Algeria, where they might ultimately come to know the land their parents once had to flee.
Exiles
Screenplay
One day Zano suggest a crazy idea to his companion Naïma: travel across France and Spain down to Algeria, where they might ultimately come to know the land their parents once had to flee.
Exiles
Director
One day Zano suggest a crazy idea to his companion Naïma: travel across France and Spain down to Algeria, where they might ultimately come to know the land their parents once had to flee.
Visions of Europe
Writer
Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.
Visions of Europe
Director
Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.
Lulu
Fabio
It's the beginning of the bullfighting season and all paths seem to lead from the arena straight to Lulu's bar. Lulu is radiant. When she was seventeen, and went by the name of Lucien, she headed off for more convivial surroundings.
Swing
Music
In a suburb of Strasbourg, Alsace, France, ten year old boy, Max, spends his summer vacation with his grandmother. He hears Manouche gypsy Romani music being played in a local bar, and loves it. He goes to visit the gypsies in search of a guitar, where he meets a young Romani tomboy, 'Swing'. She introduces Max to her gypsy community who live in caravans and down-at-heel public housing. Over several days, Max is taken into the community to witness Romani lifestyle, traditions, knowledge of plants, and particularly their Manouche music. Max is particularly fascinated by Miraldo, the Romani guitarist he first heard in the bar, and asks to take guitar lessons with him (Miraldo is played by one of the greatest guitarists of gypsy jazz, Tchavolo Schmitt).
Swing
Producer
In a suburb of Strasbourg, Alsace, France, ten year old boy, Max, spends his summer vacation with his grandmother. He hears Manouche gypsy Romani music being played in a local bar, and loves it. He goes to visit the gypsies in search of a guitar, where he meets a young Romani tomboy, 'Swing'. She introduces Max to her gypsy community who live in caravans and down-at-heel public housing. Over several days, Max is taken into the community to witness Romani lifestyle, traditions, knowledge of plants, and particularly their Manouche music. Max is particularly fascinated by Miraldo, the Romani guitarist he first heard in the bar, and asks to take guitar lessons with him (Miraldo is played by one of the greatest guitarists of gypsy jazz, Tchavolo Schmitt).
Swing
Writer
In a suburb of Strasbourg, Alsace, France, ten year old boy, Max, spends his summer vacation with his grandmother. He hears Manouche gypsy Romani music being played in a local bar, and loves it. He goes to visit the gypsies in search of a guitar, where he meets a young Romani tomboy, 'Swing'. She introduces Max to her gypsy community who live in caravans and down-at-heel public housing. Over several days, Max is taken into the community to witness Romani lifestyle, traditions, knowledge of plants, and particularly their Manouche music. Max is particularly fascinated by Miraldo, the Romani guitarist he first heard in the bar, and asks to take guitar lessons with him (Miraldo is played by one of the greatest guitarists of gypsy jazz, Tchavolo Schmitt).
Swing
Director
In a suburb of Strasbourg, Alsace, France, ten year old boy, Max, spends his summer vacation with his grandmother. He hears Manouche gypsy Romani music being played in a local bar, and loves it. He goes to visit the gypsies in search of a guitar, where he meets a young Romani tomboy, 'Swing'. She introduces Max to her gypsy community who live in caravans and down-at-heel public housing. Over several days, Max is taken into the community to witness Romani lifestyle, traditions, knowledge of plants, and particularly their Manouche music. Max is particularly fascinated by Miraldo, the Romani guitarist he first heard in the bar, and asks to take guitar lessons with him (Miraldo is played by one of the greatest guitarists of gypsy jazz, Tchavolo Schmitt).
I Come
Producer
Caco is a proud, handsome man, head of a family, and very powerful in the local community. Yet he has been torn to pieces by the death of his beloved daughter. He constantly visits her grave, weeps silently at her photo and has transferred all his wildly protective love and attention onto his mentally challenged nephew, Diego. It seems that Diego's father, Caco's brother, is in hiding after having killed a man from the Caravaca family, who are equally powerful in the community. They are looking for vengeance and have come to Caco for justice. When he refuses to betray his brother, the Caravacas grow impatient. When they realize they are getting nowhere, they threaten to kill Diego. Despite his fierce pride, Caco eventually realizes that the cycle of killing and revenge must be broken. But how can he achieve this and protect everyone he loves?
I Come
Director
Caco is a proud, handsome man, head of a family, and very powerful in the local community. Yet he has been torn to pieces by the death of his beloved daughter. He constantly visits her grave, weeps silently at her photo and has transferred all his wildly protective love and attention onto his mentally challenged nephew, Diego. It seems that Diego's father, Caco's brother, is in hiding after having killed a man from the Caravaca family, who are equally powerful in the community. They are looking for vengeance and have come to Caco for justice. When he refuses to betray his brother, the Caravacas grow impatient. When they realize they are getting nowhere, they threaten to kill Diego. Despite his fierce pride, Caco eventually realizes that the cycle of killing and revenge must be broken. But how can he achieve this and protect everyone he loves?
I Come
Screenplay
Caco is a proud, handsome man, head of a family, and very powerful in the local community. Yet he has been torn to pieces by the death of his beloved daughter. He constantly visits her grave, weeps silently at her photo and has transferred all his wildly protective love and attention onto his mentally challenged nephew, Diego. It seems that Diego's father, Caco's brother, is in hiding after having killed a man from the Caravaca family, who are equally powerful in the community. They are looking for vengeance and have come to Caco for justice. When he refuses to betray his brother, the Caravacas grow impatient. When they realize they are getting nowhere, they threaten to kill Diego. Despite his fierce pride, Caco eventually realizes that the cycle of killing and revenge must be broken. But how can he achieve this and protect everyone he loves?
Je suis né d'une cigogne
Original Music Composer
Three French pals take to the road in a stolen car and discover a talking, wounded stork — who claims to have deserted the Algerian army — and help it to escape to the home of a relative in Germany.
Je suis né d'une cigogne
Writer
Three French pals take to the road in a stolen car and discover a talking, wounded stork — who claims to have deserted the Algerian army — and help it to escape to the home of a relative in Germany.
Je suis né d'une cigogne
Director
Three French pals take to the road in a stolen car and discover a talking, wounded stork — who claims to have deserted the Algerian army — and help it to escape to the home of a relative in Germany.
The Crazy Stranger
Original Music Composer
A man is looking for a singer he had heard on cassette. He finds much more.
The Crazy Stranger
Screenplay
A man is looking for a singer he had heard on cassette. He finds much more.
The Crazy Stranger
Director
A man is looking for a singer he had heard on cassette. He finds much more.
Mondo
Writer
Mondo, a young orphaned gypsy, finds himself in France, where he scouts out potential foster families, evades the police and meets an assortment of eccentric people. In his travels, Mondo first encounters a magician who takes on the boy as an assistant. Then he moves on again, eventually befriending Dadi, a street-smart vagrant, and Giordan, a wise fisherman. All the while, the boy keeps an eye out for would-be parents.
Mondo
Director
Mondo, a young orphaned gypsy, finds himself in France, where he scouts out potential foster families, evades the police and meets an assortment of eccentric people. In his travels, Mondo first encounters a magician who takes on the boy as an assistant. Then he moves on again, eventually befriending Dadi, a street-smart vagrant, and Giordan, a wise fisherman. All the while, the boy keeps an eye out for would-be parents.
Lucumi, l'enfant rumbeiro de Cuba
Director
A beautiful film by epic music scene film maker Tony Gatlif with Cuban legends Tata Guines and Pancho Quinto, while young Michael Herrera Duarte (Lucumi) stars as the centerpiece of the story. Lucumi is ten and lives in Havana's black district. Brought up to the beat of drums, he dreams of becoming a great rumbero. With other kids on his block he improvises rumbas on old cans and pots and pans. One Saturday the best of Havana's musicians decide to get together at the "Solar California" to honor the memory of Chano Pozo, otherwise known as "the drum of Cuba". With the rumba beat, Lucumi sings, dances, plays and talks about his life, as if better to express the hardships he's already endured and to have his message heard. On this Saturday he joins up with the great rumberos and wakes up the old spirits of the tumbadora.
Latcho Drom
Writer
Latcho Drom is a vista of the music, culture, and journey of the Romani people—from their homeland of India, to Europe and Southwest Asia.
Latcho Drom
Director
Latcho Drom is a vista of the music, culture, and journey of the Romani people—from their homeland of India, to Europe and Southwest Asia.
Gaspard et Robinson
Director
Two underdogs, Gaspard and Robinson, welcome an old woman, Mamie, whose family has left on the roadside.
Pleure Pas My Love
Director
After the suicide of his actress-mother, a young man announces his identity to his father, who happens to be the man who directed his mother's last film.
The Way Out
Director
Leaving prison, Paul goes to the port. That's where he lived and where he got caught. This is also where his father died. And before leaving to try his luck elsewhere, Paul wants to avenge him.
Les princes
Léo
Nara, a 30-year-old gypsy, lives with her nine-year-old daughter Zorka and her grandmother in a public housing project in the Paris region.
Les princes
Writer
Nara, a 30-year-old gypsy, lives with her nine-year-old daughter Zorka and her grandmother in a public housing project in the Paris region.
Les princes
Director
Nara, a 30-year-old gypsy, lives with her nine-year-old daughter Zorka and her grandmother in a public housing project in the Paris region.
Corre, gitano
Writer
A teenager of gypsy race is accused of a crime he has not committed. For that reason, he decides to flee without truce until he reaches the coast. During his journey, he does not stop dancing.
Corre, gitano
Director
A teenager of gypsy race is accused of a crime he has not committed. For that reason, he decides to flee without truce until he reaches the coast. During his journey, he does not stop dancing.
Canta Gitano
Director
La terre au ventre
Director
Act of Aggression
Le motard interrogatoire
After his wife and daughter are raped and killed by a motorbike gang a man sets out to take revenge.
Raging Fists