About Yamina Benguigui
Yamina Benguigui (born Yamina Zora Belaïdi; in Lille on 9 April 1955) is a French film director and politician of Algerian descent. She is known for her films on gender issues in the North African (both Berbers and Arabs) immigrant community in France. Through her films, Benguigui gave a voice to many from the Maghrebi population in France. == Life == Benguigui's parents were Algerian and immigrated to France from Algeria in the early 1950s. She never discovered why her parents decided to leave Algeria, saying the subject was considered taboo. Born in Lille, Benguigui was the eldest daughter of six children and spent her childhood in northern France. Describing herself as a quiet child who grew up in the Islamic tradition, Benguigui was only 13 years old when she first decided to become a filmmaker. Her father was a political leader in the Algerian National Movement, and was jailed in France for three years as a political prisoner (she has also stated that he was jailed on two separate occasions, and that her whole family was once under house arrest). Because he did not support her in her chosen profession, Benguigui broke off contact with him early on, only to reconnect with him in late 2001. After she left the family her mother divorced her father as well.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.