Lyes Salem

Acting

Lyes Salem

Born 1973-07-07 · Alger, Algeria

Lyès Salem (Algiers, 1973) is an Algerian actor and film director. His first film as director, Masquerades, won several prizes in France. Source: Article "Lyes Salem" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Acting credits

Munich poster
7.1

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack.

Munich

2005

District B13 poster
6.8

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

District B13

2004

Maria poster
6.5

Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as she confronts her identity and life.

Maria

2024

Burners poster
NR

Amine, a young Algerian, rents a camcorder and films souvenirs on his way to Eldorado.

Burners

2011

Final Cut poster
6.7

Things go badly for a small film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie when they are attacked by real zombies.

Final Cut

2022

Paternal poster
6.1

In a small town in central France, Simon is a priest devoted to his parish. During a mass, Louise, whom he hadn’t seen since his seminary years ago, reappears. She introduces him to Aloé, an 11-year-old child, who is his son. This news will disrupt his daily life: can he be a good priest for his parishioners and a good father for his child? Simon will try to convince the highest authorities of the Church that his vocation is compatible with paternal love.

Paternal

2024

My Afternoons with Margueritte poster
7.0

An illiterate and lonely man bonds with an older and well-read woman.

My Afternoons with Margueritte

2010

Free Drum Kit poster
5.0

Lila welcomes her friend Agathe, who is moving in as a roommate. Lila must also get rid of the bulky drum kit left behind by her ex. Should she sell it or give it away? To whom and how? Agathe and Lila share their ideas. Lila decides to be generous and gives it away on an online platform, unaware that this simple gesture will lead her into a series of adventures.

Free Drum Kit

2025

Unveiled poster
5.8

Three women, three generations, two secrets. In the early 1970s, a bomb exploded on board the Swissair flight 330 to Tel Aviv. Isabelle's husband also died. The young, very pregnant widow feared that her lover, the Palestinian activist Djibril, might be entangled in it ... Now, 47 years later, Isabelle finds out that her granddaughter Anaïs has converted to Islam. But why does the young student keep her new faith secret from the family? Anaïs's mother, Léa, immediately rings the alarm.

Unveiled

2018

Cousines poster
9.0

Driss, an Algerian emigrant who has settled down in France, is back to Algiers for his month's holiday. What joy it is to hug his relatives and friends, to get to know Nedjma, his cousin Amrane's promised wife and to rediscover the white beauty of his childhood town ! But, a dramatic news suddenly interferes. A fourteen-year-old girl has just been killed for refusing to wear the "hidjab". A spontaneous demonstration is organized, to which the women of the house decide to go. With one exception though : that of Nedjma banned from going by her future husband.

Cousines

2004

Meet the Leroys poster
6.2

A man takes his wife and their teenage children on a road trip down memory lane while facing divorce.

Meet the Leroys

2024

DNA poster
5.9

A woman has a close bond with her beloved Algerian grandfather, who protected her from a toxic home life as a child; his death triggers a deep identity crisis as tensions between her extended family members escalate, revealing new depths of resentment and bitterness.

DNA

2020

In Your Image poster
4.8

Ridden by guilt for not being able to have a child, wife decides to conceive by cloning. The daughter she gives birth to is therefor almost identical to her. The child starts to grow rapidly and slowly replaces mom in the household.

In Your Image

2004

For My Country poster
6.2

Aissa, a young officer of Algerian origin, tragically loses his life during a fresher initiation ritual at the prestigious French military academy of Saint-Cyr. As the death tears through his family, controversy arises over Aissa’s funeral plans when the Army refuses to take responsibility. Ismael, his older, rebellious brother, tries to keep the family united as they fight to win justice for Aissa.

For My Country

2023

The In(famous) Youssef Salem poster
6.4

Youssef Salem, 45, has always managed to miss his writing career. But the trouble begins when his new novel becomes a success because Youssef couldn't help but be inspired by his own, for better or worse. He must now avoid at all costs that his book falls into the hands of his family.

The In(famous) Youssef Salem

2023

Clan Destin poster
9.5

On a sunny day and like every afternoon, Omar joins Tchato, Moulay and Fouad on the pier of the port of Oran. Witness to a transaction between a drug trafficker and a sailor, Fouad warns his friends. Moulay and Tchato decide to seize the opportunity to make their dream come true: going to France. With the help of Omar and Fouad, they blackmail the sailor who gives in to their demands. On the evening of departure, Tchato is trapped by his ambiguity.

Clan Destin

1999

Rodrigue in Love poster
6.2

A struggling actor, Stéphane arrives with his troupe at the Avignon Festival to perform a boulevard play. There, he meets Fanny, a renowned actress, and falls under her spell. Taking advantage of a misunderstanding to get closer to her, Stéphane sinks into a lie that he will have to keep going for the duration of the festival... but which will quickly overwhelm him!

Rodrigue in Love

2025

What is Love? poster
6.2

Marguerite has no reason to refuse the church’s annulment of her marriage to Fred. She also has a new partner with whom she has a child. However, to convince the church that their previous marriage was doomed from the start, Marguerite and Fred must examine their shared past.

What is Love?

2026

American Cuisine poster
4.8

Following his discharge from the Navy for hitting a superior officer, Loren takes a chance and moves to France, to learn haute cuisine under a four star chef...

American Cuisine

1998

Sparring poster
5.9

Steve Landry, an aging boxer with more losses than wins, accepts to become a sparring partner for an emerging champion in a last-ditch attempt to stay relevant.

Sparring

2017

Just to Be Sure poster
6.4

Erwan, a strapping Breton who clears mines for a living, is shaken when he discovers that his father is not his father. Despite his affection for the man who raised him, he quietly sets out to find his biological father, and succeeds in locating Joseph, an endearing old codger he takes a liking to. Just when things look settled, another unexpected “bomb” hits Erwan in the form of Anna, an elusive nymph.

Just to Be Sure

2017

The Madness Express poster
4.3

Sébastien, a conscientious and professional train inspector, dreams of being transferred to the South of France. To validate his transfer, he has to make one last routine run under the supervision of Madeleine, a slightly sociopathic inspector who won't let him go. That's when everything goes wrong: between a driver who thinks he's driving a fighter jet, a jealous colleague and passengers who are each crazier than the last, what was supposed to be a formality turns into the worst trip of his life.

The Madness Express

2023

Honey Cigar poster
5.6

Paris, 1993. Selma, 17, lives in a bourgeois and secular Berber family. When she meets and is strongly attracted to Julien, a dashing young man, she realizes for the first time the heavy rules of her patriarchal family and how they affect her intimacy. As Islamism takes over her country of origin and her family crumbles, Selma discovers the power of her own desire. She must resist and fight. Through the strength of her people, she starts walking down the path of what it means to become a free woman.

Honey Cigar

2020

Alex poster
3.0

Alex is a liberated, apparently sturdy yet vulnerable woman in her thirties. She earns her living as a market trader and with building work - she has no trouble matching up to the men. She works on renovating an old dilapidated house, high up and lonely in the mountains of the Ardèche, in the hope that her teenage son Xavier, who was not brought up by her, will move in. The walls she is restoring are like her life, which she wants to build up bit by bit. Because it's clear that she has just lived through some difficult years - in her own defensive words, she says to her son: 'I was unstable.' She is still easily upset and can become angry and aggressive.

Alex

2005

Behind the camera

Cousines poster
9.0

Driss, an Algerian emigrant who has settled down in France, is back to Algiers for his month's holiday. What joy it is to hug his relatives and friends, to get to know Nedjma, his cousin Amrane's promised wife and to rediscover the white beauty of his childhood town ! But, a dramatic news suddenly interferes. A fourteen-year-old girl has just been killed for refusing to wear the "hidjab". A spontaneous demonstration is organized, to which the women of the house decide to go. With one exception though : that of Nedjma banned from going by her future husband.

Cousines

2004

Cousines poster
9.0

Driss, an Algerian emigrant who has settled down in France, is back to Algiers for his month's holiday. What joy it is to hug his relatives and friends, to get to know Nedjma, his cousin Amrane's promised wife and to rediscover the white beauty of his childhood town ! But, a dramatic news suddenly interferes. A fourteen-year-old girl has just been killed for refusing to wear the "hidjab". A spontaneous demonstration is organized, to which the women of the house decide to go. With one exception though : that of Nedjma banned from going by her future husband.

Cousines

2004

No One Will Be Any the Wiser poster
NR

Hired by a woman who thinks her husband cheated on her, a fumbling crook has to kidnap and punish the mistress in question. With one of his friends, he sets up a scheme to pocket the money easily. But the day of the confrontation, things take an unexpected turn.

No One Will Be Any the Wiser

2015

L'Oranais poster
7.4

During the first euphoric years following independence, two friends, Djaffar and Hamid, are promised a bright future in a free Algeria until one day when betrayal separates them.

L'Oranais

2014

L'Oranais poster
7.4

During the first euphoric years following independence, two friends, Djaffar and Hamid, are promised a bright future in a free Algeria until one day when betrayal separates them.

L'Oranais

2014

Mascarades poster
6.6

Mounir Mekbek lives with his family in a small village in the heart of the Algerian countryside. Very proud and sure of himself, he has only one dream- to finally be appreciated by his fellow villagers. Screwing up his carefully maintained image is his headstrong, narcoleptic sister Rym who falls asleep anywhere and whom the village is convinced will end up a spinster. One evening, Mounir returns from town drunk and announces that he's found a suitor for his sister. The fake story snowballs and snowballs until the suitor morphs into a rich, blonde Australian. The village begins preparing for the wedding in earnest - but without a bridegroom in sight.

Mascarades

2008

Mascarades poster
6.6

Mounir Mekbek lives with his family in a small village in the heart of the Algerian countryside. Very proud and sure of himself, he has only one dream- to finally be appreciated by his fellow villagers. Screwing up his carefully maintained image is his headstrong, narcoleptic sister Rym who falls asleep anywhere and whom the village is convinced will end up a spinster. One evening, Mounir returns from town drunk and announces that he's found a suitor for his sister. The fake story snowballs and snowballs until the suitor morphs into a rich, blonde Australian. The village begins preparing for the wedding in earnest - but without a bridegroom in sight.

Mascarades

2008