Haydée Chikly Tamzali was a Tunisian-Jewish actress, writer, and filmmaker who played an essential role in the development of Arabic and African cinema.  

Chikly was born on August 23, 1906, to Albert Samama Chikly, a Tunisian-Jewish filmmaker, and Bianca Ferrero, an Italian-born nurse who worked for the Red Cross in Tunisia. Chikly began working with her father as a young girl. When she was 16, he directed her in her first starring role in the short film Zohra (1922), which was written by Chikly herself and is considered the first fiction film made in Tunisia. She served as her father's muse and was able to participate in various aspects of filmmaking, including film editing and hand-coloring.  

In 1924, Chikly starred in The Arab and was offered a five-year contract that included travel fees and accommodation in Hollywood. The contract also covered her mother’s tutorage since Chikly was only sixteen years old. Unfortunately, her father prevented her from relocating to Hollywood and pursuing an acting career in the United States. Despite this setback, Chikly continued with her screenwriting.  

In 1929, Chikly married Khellil Tamzali, an Algerian man, and became Haydée Chikly Tamzali. The couple had two children together. She left Tunisia for Algeria, where she continued to write. She wrote a number of short stories and articles for the Tunisian national newspaper La Presse, as well a 1992 book of true stories called Lost Images. In Algeria, she was also active in the public sphere, becoming President of Social Works, Secretary of the Red Cross, and President of the League Against Cancer. She also continued acting later in life, starring in the 1996 film A Summer in La Goulette. Haydée Chikly Tamzali passed away on August 20, 1998.  

Sources:  

Mejri, Ouissal. “Haydée Chikly.” Women Film Pioneers Project. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/haydee-chikly/. 

Echites, Giulia. “Visionario Chikly, Portò Il Cinema (e La Bicicletta) Agli Africani.” La Repubblica, July 11, 2015. https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/cinema/2015/07/11/news/chikly-117675443/.