Roschdy Zem

Roschdy Zem made his debut in 1991 in André Téchiné's I Don’t Kiss. Four years later, he played a leading role in Don't Forget You're Going to Die by Xavier Beauvois (winner of the Jury Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival).
Since then, he has starred in many acclaimed films including Gérard Lauzier's The Best Job in the World, Laetitia Masson's To Have (Or Not), and Patrice Chéreau's Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train. His choice of roles ranges from auteur films to popular comedies, psychological dramas and thrillers.

In 2006, he was among the recipients of a special ensemble Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his work in Days of Glory, by Rachid Bouchareb.
The same year, he made his directorial debut with Bad Faith, in which he co-starred with Cécile de France. His sophomore film, 2011’s Omar Killed Me, was inspired by the Omar Raddad case. It was followed by Bodybuilder in 2014 and Chocolat in 2016.
In Persona non grata (2019), his fifth film as Director, he brought together beloved French actors Nicolas Duvauchelle and Raphaël Personnaz.

In parallel, Roschdy Zem continued to pursue his career as an actor. He has collaborated — among others — with Rebecca Zlotowski in the miniseries Savages, Sylvie Verheyde in Madame Claude, Pierre Jolivet (six times!), Xavier Beauvois, and Rachid Bouchareb. He was awarded the César for Best Actor for his role in Arnaud Desplechin’s Oh Mercy!, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

2022: a very prolific year! His feature film, Our Ties, received four nominations at the Venice Film Festival. Rebecca Zlotowski's Other People’s Children, in which he stars alongside Virginie Efira, was also presented at the Biennale. He has also starred in Thierry de Peretti's Undercover, Louis Garrel's The Innocent and in the Netflix series Notre-Dame. His latest role is in the upcoming Le Principal by Chad Chenouga, with Marina Hands.

Roschdy Zem came at Les Arcs in 2022 as the jury president for feature film.