Ouardia Hamtouche

Acting

Ouardia Hamtouche

Born 1930-02-18 · Algiers, Algeria

Ouardia Hamtouche (Arabic: وردية حمتوش), born Ouardia Annab on February 18, 1930, in Algiers, and who passed away on January 2, 1991, in Épernay, France, was an Algerian actress. She was the maternal grandmother of the French rapper of Algerian descent Karim Zenoud, known by the stage name Lacrim. Ouardia Hamtouche was born in 1930 in Algiers into a Kabyle family originally from Akbou, Béjaïa. Married at a young age, she worked as a cleaner at the Mustapha Pacha Hospital in Algiers while pursuing her studies. Her career as a performer began when she started participating in radio broadcasts, all while continuing her night-shift cleaning job at the hospital. A few years later, she began acting in comedies, taking on various roles in television, theater, and cinema. She appeared in major popular Algerian films of the 1980s and 1990s, such as *Hassan Niya* by Ghaouti Bendedouche, starring Rouiched (1982); *De Hollywood à Tamanrasset* (1991)—an Algerian comedy classic that brought together the finest actors of the era; *Le Mariage des Dupes* by Hadj Rahim, alongside Mustapha El-Anka; *Taxi El Makhfi (Le Clandestin)* with Athmane Ariouet and Yahia Benmabrouk; and *Sombrero* by Rabah Bouberas, among many others. Her talent extended to French productions, including Bernard Nauer's *Nuit d'ivresse*—alongside Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, and Michel Blanc—and Mahmoud Zemmouri's *Les Folles Années du Twist*, featuring Malik Lakhdar-Hamina, Jacques Villeret, and Richard Bohringer. Quickly becoming a popular figure, Ouardia Hamtouche won over audiences with her simple, natural "Algerian mother" persona—which fostered a close bond with the public—and a satirical wit reminiscent of performers like Rachid Ksentini or Mohamed Touri. She died of a heart attack on a train on January 1, 1991, while traveling to visit her daughter in Metz, France. In 2012, a two-day tribute was held in her honor at the El Mouggar cinema in Algiers, featuring screenings of films in which she had appeared.

Acting credits

Nuit d'ivresse poster
6.0

Jacques Belin, presenter of a silly TV show, gets drunk after receiving an award and misses the train bringing his TV-soap-star fiancée. He meets up with Frède, just out of prison after a three year sentence and, in between numerous arguments and Jacques' break-up with his girlfriend, the two of them get drunker together, going across Paris in search of more alcohol and adventure.

Nuit d'ivresse

1986

Kahla wa Bayda poster
10.0

Rabie is a kid from Sétif in 1980, trying to collect money to buy a wheelchair for his paralyzid sister Sassia, so she can get out of the house.

Kahla wa Bayda

1980

One Roof, One Family poster
10.0

Selim Mechoubine, a young man of 28, is the eldest of a large family. In the cramped accommodation he shares with his parents, brothers and sisters... he occupies the kitchen, the refuge of his dreams and his many fantasies. Selim, the court clerk where divorcing couples parade..., wants to get married. His mother finds him “the rare pearl”. But now, the bride's family demands that the couple have their own home... Selim's misadventure begins; he finds himself confronted with the problems of the housing crisis which forces him to begin a long quest, procedures, requests to find the sine qua non condition for his marriage.

One Roof, One Family

1982

Le Clandestin poster
9.5

Nine people with Abdullah Le Clandestin (Illegal Taxi), in one car, on the way to Algiers.

Le Clandestin

1989

Khouth Ma Aâtak Allah (عرس الدايم, خود ما اعطاك الله) poster
7.5

No synopsis available yet.

Khouth Ma Aâtak Allah (عرس الدايم, خود ما اعطاك الله)

1981

Les Folles Années du Twist poster
6.0

A small town in Algeria, in the years 1960-1962. Two young idle boys and rock fans, Boualem and Salah, try to survive in the turmoil of war, taking great care not to get involved.

Les Folles Années du Twist

1986

Hassan Taxi poster
7.8

Hassan, tired and worn out by the long years of post-independence, obtains a taxi license as a veteran and will crisscross the streets of Algiers, experiencing the most incredible adventures.

Hassan Taxi

1982

Leila and the Others poster
9.5

The story of Algerian women trying to live in 1970s Algeria where the society is between conservative values and progressive modern Algeria.

Leila and the Others

1977

From Hollywood to Tamanrasset poster
7.8

On the outskirts of Algiers, Algeria. the arrival of the satellite dishes governs the lives of the inhabitants. Dissatisfied with their lives, they think of themselves as the heroes of American soap opera and movies, so JR, Sue Ellen, Rambo, Kojak, Spock and others take possession of bodies and minds, with many typical American culture elements. These heroes mix in a beautiful funny mess, with tradition and modernism, Islam and television, reality and fiction.

From Hollywood to Tamanrasset

1990

Hassan Niya poster
10.0

The story of Hassan, the handyman in the inn of his sister Aïcha, widowed and childless. A whole series of incidents, misunderstandings, will punctuate his daily routine in which we find him in turn driver, waiter, welder, etc. But, he refuses to submit to anything that does not conform to the idea he has of society and things...

Hassan Niya

1989

The Citadel poster
4.9

El Kalaa, a village in southern Oran. Although already married, old Sidi planned to marry another. He sets his sights on the beautiful Aïssa, with whom Kaddour, his adopted son, is in love. The old man decides to play a trick on Kaddour to teach him never to covet a woman that an elder wants to marry...

The Citadel

1988