Anissa Daoud

EARLY LIFE

Anissa Daoud was born on 24 May 1971 in Dougga, Tunisia, to a Tunisian father and a Franco-Italian mother. She grew up in Tunisia and later developed a dual Franco-Tunisian professional and personal life, dividing her time between Paris and Tunis. She describes herself as self-taught and versatile, moving across acting, writing, producing, and directing without formal academic training in the arts.

CAREER

panning film, theatre, and production, often with strong political or social content. Acting – Film Early and notable feature credits include: Elle et Lui (She and He, Elyes Baccar, 2004) – lead Noce d’été / Summer Wedding (Mokhtar Ladjimi, 2004) La Tendresse du loup / Tender Is the Wolf (Jilani Saadi, 2006) – as Aziza; multiple Best Actress awards (Tarifa African Film Festival, Alexandria International Film Festival, Muscat International Film Festival) Thalathoun / Thirty (Fadhel Jaziri, 2008) The Long Night (Hatem Ali, 2009) Printemps tunisien / Tunisian Spring (Raja Amari, 2014) – Best Actress, Durban International Film Festival Les Frontières du ciel / Borders of Heaven (Fares Naanaa, 2015) – Best Actress, Rencontre des Réalisateurs Tunisiens Demain dès l’aube / Burning Hope / Tomorrow at Dawn (Lotfi Achour, 2016) – as Zeïneb; co-writer and co-producer; Haydée Samama Chikli Prize (Carthage Film Festival / JCC) and Best Actress at Malmö Arab Film Festival La Belle et la Meute / Beauty and the Dogs (Kaouther Ben Hania, 2017) – as Faïza; Best Supporting Actress, Tunisian Film Festival She has also appeared in numerous shorts (including work by Doria Achour and Lotfi Achour) and selected television and documentary projects. Theatre She worked extensively as actress and assistant director with Mohamed Guellati (productions in France, Africa, and at the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Palestine). She collaborated with Franco-Comoran choreographer Karry Kamal Karry and performed Juliet (in Italian) in Alexander Zeldin’s Romeo and Juliet at the Napoli Teatro Festival (2010). From 2009 onward she partnered closely with Lotfi Achour as actress and co-playwright on Hobb Story – Sex in the (Arab) City and the Shakespeare adaptation Macbeth: Leila and Ben – A Bloody History (created for the 2012 London Cultural Olympiad / World Shakespeare Festival). Other stage work includes Je suis encore en vie (Jacques Allaire) and pieces exploring colonial/neocolonial themes and Palestine. Producing and Directing With Lotfi Achour she co-founded Artistes Producteurs Associés (APA). Through APA she has produced theatre and films, including shorts selected at Cannes (Law of the Lamb, 2016) and Venice (The Rest Is the Work of Man, 2016; The Eagles of Carthage, 2020). She produced Burning Hope and has been involved in later projects such as Red Path (Les Enfants Rouges, 2024, producer) and the documentary Blind Spot. As a director she has made documentaries focused on feminism and women’s roles, the short Best Day Ever (co-directed with Aboozar Amini for the Tunisian Factory of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, 2018), and the short fiction Le Bain / The Bath (2020). She continues to develop her first feature fiction screenplay while remaining active as an actress and producer.

Anissa Daoud is recognized as a multifaceted Franco-Tunisian artist whose work frequently engages political, social, and feminist themes across cinema and theatre. Her dual practice as performer and producer (via APA) has supported both her own projects and those of collaborators, with films and shorts reaching major festivals including Cannes, Venice, Carthage, and others. She continues to work between France and Tunisia.