Tony Gatlif was born in Algiers, Algeria, to a Kabyle father and a Romani mother, and spent his childhood there before moving to France in 1960 following the Algerian War of Independence.
Despite struggling to break into the film industry, Gatlif eventually found success, directing his first film, La Tête en ruine, in 1975, followed by La Terre au ventre in 1979, a story based on the Algerian War of Independence.
In the 1980s, Gatlif's focus shifted to the Romani people of Europe, from whom he traces his own descent, beginning with Corre, gitano in 1981. This marked the beginning of a long-term exploration of Romani culture and identity.
Gatlif's subsequent films continued to explore Romani culture, including Gaspard et Robinson in 1990, Latcho Drom in 1993, which was awarded numerous prizes and is often mistakenly classified as a documentary, and Mondo in 1995, an adaptation of a novel by J.M.G. Le Clézio.
In 2004, Gatlif's film Exils won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and his film Transylvania premiered at Cannes in May 2006.
Throughout his career, Gatlif has been recognized for his unique and insightful portrayal of Romani culture and identity, earning him widespread critical acclaim and a dedicated following among film enthusiasts.
