Salim Kéchiouche

Salim Kéchiouche is a young French actor. He was born in Lyon (France), on April 2, 1979.

While only 15 years old, he was first discovered by French actor/director Gaël Morel. Morel gave him his first role in a feature film in "À Toute Vitesse" ("Full Speed"), released in 1996. Since then, Kéchiouche has acted in most of Morel's works including Premières Neiges in 1999, "Le Clan" ("Three Dancing Slaves") in 2004 and, more recently in "Après Lui"(2007). While still a teenager, making movies was more or less just a game for Kéchiouche. His experiences with Gaël Morel, however, gradually developed his passion for acting and pushed him to make it into a career. This motivated him to enter acting school, from which he graduated in 2002.

Over the years, Kéchiouche also worked under other French directors, such as François Ozon, as well as with non-French directors.

In 2003, Kéchiouche played the role of Karim in "Gigolo", directed by German director Bastian Schweitzer, opposite Amanda Lear who played a has-been star having an affair with Karim, a gigolo trying to get his life back on track, trapped in a spiral of self-destruction in the artificial jet-set world of Paris. The film was nominated in official competition for the Golden Bear Award in the Best Short Film category at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.

Although Kéchiouche has played a few gay or bisexual characters, his portfolio of roles now encompasses a wide spectrum of characters in short and feature films, plays and TV series. Among his movies, he was particularly noticed in "Grande École" playing Mécir and also in his role as Hicham in the film "Le Clan", released as 'Three Dancing Slaves' in the U.S. Both movies were released in 2004. On stage, in Paris, he also played the role of Giuseppe Pelosi, the killer and lover of Pier Paolo Pasolini in 'Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini' written by Michel Azama.

Off the boards and away from the cameras, Salim was kick boxing champion of France in 1998 and also 1st runner-up in Thai boxing in 1999 and in 2002. His boxing talents were used on a few occasions in some of his films where he played a boxer, notably in "Les Amants Criminels", "Archives De Nuit", "Le Clan", "Nos Retrouvailles" and when playing himself in the Cinematon experiment.

From the very beginning of Kéchiouche's career, some painters and photographers have shown great interest in exploiting his striking handsome looks and his sleek physiognomy. Among these artists, Pierre & Gilles produced photographs and paintings related to the movie "Les Amants Criminels", released as 'Criminal Lovers' in the U.S. and for the play "Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini" in 2003. The painter Youssef Nabil as well as author Michel Giliberti, in 2005 and 2006 respectively, explored the dark side of Kéchiouche's looks through a dozen paintings.

Salim Kechiouche now lives in Paris dividing his time between cinema and the stage.

Filmography

Feature Films

* À Toute Vitesse, released as "Full Speed" in the U.S., by Gaël Morel, 1996, playing Jamel
* Premières Neiges, by Gaël Morel, 1999, playing Kacem
* Les Amants Criminels, released as "Criminal Lovers" in the U.S., by François Ozon, 1999, playing Saïd
* Grande École, released as "Grande École" in the U.S., by Robert Salis, 2004, playing Mécir
* Le Clan, released as "Three Dancing Slaves" in the U.S., by Gaël Morel, 2004, playing Hicham
* L'Année Suivante, by Isabelle Czajka, 2007, playing Nayib
* Nos Retrouvailles, by David Oelhoffen, 2006, playing Karim, in post-production, to be released in 2007
* Après Lui, by Gaël Morel, 2006, playing Salim, in post-production, to be released in 2007

Short Films

* "Couscous Pour Tout Le Monde" by Vincent Pesci, 2004, playing Luc
* "Pas Sans Moi" by Sandra Dalle, experimental short, 2004, playing Golden Boy
* "Gigolo" (color version)/"Archives De Nuit" (black and white version) by Bastian Schweitzer, 2005, competing for the Golden Berlin Bear Award in the Best Short Film category at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival, playing Karim
* "Temps Morts" or "A Summer Afternoon" by Éléonore Weber, 2005, playing Saïd
* "Cinematon" by Gérard Courant, participated in the "Cinematon" experiment - #2,102 in the collection, 2005, playing himself
* "Yasmina" by Vincent Pesci, 2006, playing Sofiane
* "Er-radja, Le Retour" by Pascal Faure, 2006, documentary with the actor going back to his roots in Algeria

TV Series

* « La Promesse de l'Ours », episode of « Malone », by Franck Apprederis, 2003
* « En Quarantaine », episode of Le Grand Patron, by Christian Bonnet, 2004, playing Sami
* « Balle Perdue », episode n°147 of Préjudices on France 2, by Frédéric Berthe, 2006
* « La Grande Inondation », docudrama in French and English, by Bruno Victor-Pugebet, 2006, playing Malik

Plays

* Radio play for Radio France Lyon: "A l'Ombre d'Ambre", 2001, directed by Edmonde Franchi
* Radio play for Radio France Lyon: "Le Piqueur de Macadam" by François Thomazeau, 2002, directed by Edmonde Franchi
* Radio play for France Culture: "Lumières - Une Tuerie" by Julien Collet, 2002
* "Les Derniers Jours de l'Humanité" by Karl Kraus, directed by Salvadora Parras, 2002
* "Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini" by Michel Azama, directed by Jean Menaud, May-June 2003, Paris, playing Giuseppe Pelosi
* "Le Centième Nom" by Michel Giliberti, directed by Stéphane Aucante, November 2005-February 2006, playing Jihed
* "Les Grecs" by Jean-Marie Besset, directed by Gilbert Désveaux, April-July 2006, Paris, playing Osman
* "Un Petit Pull Over Angora" by Daniel Saint Hamont, directed by David Haddad, October-December 2006, Paris, playing Mohammed Habibi
* "Rupture Entre Amis" by Frédéric Rondot, directed by Frédéric Rondot, May-June 2007, Paris, playing Karim

External links

*
* [http://www.salimkechiouche.com/ salimkechiouche.com] (French)