Athmane Ariouet
1948-09-24 | M'Doukal, Algeria
Athmane Ariouet (Arabic: عثمان عريوات) born September 24, 1948 in M'doukal, Algeria is an Algerian actor from a Chaoui family. He played in several Algerian historical, social, comedic and dramatic films. Awarded several times during a career spanning more than five decades, he is considered one of the greatest Algerian actors such as Hassan El Hassani, Rouiched, Hadj Abderrahmane among others. It was at the age of 15, in 1963, that he began his experience in theater and cinema, discovering Molière. This native of M’doukel, the land of Mustapha Kouici and Ahmed Aroua, he knew/knows that art is a serious matter. He did not let himself be intoxicated by his first successes, he decided to follow training at the Algiers Conservatory from 1969 to 1972. He learned the secrets of diction, the different processes of commedia dell'arte made essentially of improvisation, bodily expression, but especially Stanislavski's techniques. Thus, he will meet the big names of theater, Keltoum, Rouiched, Mustapha Kazdarli, Hassan el Hassani, Taha el Amiri, Hadj Omar, Allal el Mouhib or Mustapha Kateb. He never imagined rubbing shoulders with these giants of dramatic art and cinema. Ariouet chooses his directors, his productions and the subjects covered, it is not easy, theater and cinema are, for him, serious affairs: “I prefer to stay without acting than to get involved in roles and work of 'a low level as we see, unfortunately, today. I am for quality works and leveling down revolts me.” He is also comfortable with certain actors like Salah Aougrout, Lakhdar Boukhers, Hamid Achouri, Antar Hellal or Allaoua Djermani, but, of course, he really liked working with the veterans who allowed him to learn the profession more. We cannot fail to learn alongside Hadj Omar, Allel el Mouhib or Hadj Abderrahmane. Athmane Ariouet, whose eclecticism is the fundamental mark of his theatrical and cinematographic experience, moves with disconcerting ease from the tragic style to the comedy of situations or morals. In 2004, he retired from the theater after his film "Chronique des Années Pub" in which he encountered financial difficulties as well as a ban on theatrical release. However, in 2017, during the forum of the daily El Moudjahid, the former Minister of Culture Azzedine Mihoubi announced that “the film was in the editing phase” and finally released in 2018. In July 2020, Ariouet received the “Achir” rank national merit medal under the direction of President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune. In January 2021, after 20 years of absence from the screen, Athmane Ariouet reconnected with the public by launching his Instagram account. In April 2023, Brahim Irban said in a podcast that the actor refused the sum of 3,000,000 Algerian Dinars for a photo shoot with a costume for a billboard requested by an advertising agency, although he lives normally, as a man of the people, preferring a simple life, commenting that his "Art is priceless".
