Morocco’s actress and ex-Minister of Culture, Touria Jabrane died on Monday August 24, at the age of 68, in a clinic in Casablanca following a long illness.
The late Touria Jabrane, who was suffering from cancer, was admitted on August 13 to Cheikh Khalifa Hospital in Casablanca on King Mohammed VI’s instructions.
Multitalented, present on stage as well as on television and in cinema, Touria Jabrane has always shone with her talent.
Turia Jebrane is an emblematic figure of the national theater. A graduate of the national conservatory of dramatic art in Rabat, she began her career in 1972 with the Maamora company, with Tayeb Seddiki, under the direction of Farid Ben Barek. The university theater had just been born.
Very quickly, she revealed her qualities as a great actress and established herself as a sure bet of her generation.
She continued her fight within the Maamora commany and contributed to the creation of many independent groups.
Her television performances caught the attention of Moroccan and foreign directors. She played her first movie role in 1978, under the direction of Mustapha Akkad, in the film “Omar Al Mokhtar.” Other roles followed suit, notably in “Absence” by Saad Chraibi (1982), “Titre Provisoire” by Mustapha Derkaoui (1982), “Bamou” by Driss Mrini (1982), “Noura” by Driss Kettani (1983) or even “Une Hiqtoire d’amour” by Philipe Carrel (1992)…
Touria Jebrane also has to her credit a fruitful collaboration with the essential Tayeb Seddiki. “Al Majdoub”, the history of the city of Essaouira and “Le Livfe des Declarations” are all plays where the actress fulfilled her task and confronted her talent with a director renowned for his demands on stage.
Throughout her career, she has worked with a fine mix of national and Arab actors, multiplied experiences and won the hearts of thousands of fans. Her celebrity notoriety goes beyond national borders to find echoe all over the Arab world. The first recognition comes from Iraq, a country she particularly cherishes, and of which she has fond memories.
In Baghdad, in 1985 she won the prize for best actress.
Four years later, it is the turn of the Carthage Festival to showcase her talent. With the same interest, those in charge of the festival repeat in 1991 to grant her the special mention and the price of best female interpretation.
A year later, recognition arrives, this time from the Cairo International Experimental Theater Festival, where the actress receives a “Special Tribute” for her entire work.
The last three prizes pay special tribute to plays conceived and staged as part of “Le Theatre d’Aujourd’hui.”
Touria Jebrane was decorated by the late King Hassan II with the Wissam of National Merit. She has also been knighted in the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic. She received the Vermeil Prize from the Academie des Arts Sciences Lettres in Paris.
Appointed Minister of Culture in 2007, she contributed to the reform of the Theater Support Fund. She was also the initiator of the “Fête de la Musique” (Music Feast.)
HA/fss/abj/APA