Elie – or “Lili” as he calls himself – Boniche had been a great performer of classic Arab music before he became the undisputed star of Algerian popular music. His style - a mix of Arab music, cha-cha and tango – was all the rage in Algiers and Paris in the 1950’s. At the pinnacle of his career, and at the request of his wife, he gave up performing.
He returned to music almost by accident in the 1980’s: a producer discovers old Boniche recordings and enthusiastically suggests that the performer record a new album. Based on new concert extracts and archival footage, the film tells the story of a child of the Kasbah turned star of Algerian music. His music itself is the reflection of a forgotten country: a cosmopolitan and tolerant Algeria. Today at his concerts, young Arab immigrants dance along with Jewish mamas… Yet, Boniche has not been back to Algeria since 1960…
FOR SCREENINGS: available in French only.