Biyouna

Biyouna was born in Belcourt (Alger, Algeria) in 1954 during the war of liberation against France. Her sister was a famous singer known as Leila Djazaria. Her mother was selling tickets in a famous theater "le Dounyazad". As a little girl she often watched famous Egyptian singers and actresses at this cinema, that's why she decided to start belly dancing when she was 14 in the most famous cabarets of Alger. In 1973 while she was visiting Algerian television studios, director Mustapha Badie noticed her "big mouth". He was looking for an actress an important part of a television series "La Grande Maison", based on a trilogy by Algerian writer Mohamed Dib. Biyouna made a test and she was the best. She mostly worked for Algerian television and did some one-woman shows all over Algeria even when the terrorism was at its top. She had never leave her native country until director Nadir Mokneche asked her for the role of Meriem in "Le Harem De madame Osmane" in 1999, filmed in Morocco, but supposed to be Algeria during terrorism. She's still living in popular Alger, Bab el Oued, where she's a star. Now she's working in both France and Algeria for television and cinema.