Even if you excel at your job, it’s extremely important and critical to get better at every opportunity. One who is always ready to improve carries an unmatchable potential to maintain success. Algerian filmmaker and acting coach, Hadj Ali Menad has every quality one needs to be a successful artist.
It’s rare to find an artist who is skillful and modest at the same time. But Hadj Ali Menad is the rare combination. Despite his imposing body, Hadj knows how to present his style gently in his action movies.
Hadj spent his childhood on the other shore of the Mediterranean in Oran and realised his passion for cinema. “I always wanted to be a director behind the camera but in Algeria, I had little hope to succeed and I got to the sport,” he says.
The place where Hadj Ali Menad spent his early life didn’t had proper cinemas. The only way he used to watch movies was through DVDs. It was only when Jackie Chan’s Rush Hour 2 released in France, he got introduced to the cinematic experience. Hadj was in his early 20s at that time and there was only one cinema in his location and that too wasn’t properly maintained. But the experience was life changing for him.
“I entered the room and it was an enchantment” he recalls. Hadj Ali Menad also shares that he loved the experience so much that he decided to watch it again the next day. It was the moment which made me instantly decided that he wants to pursue the profession of a director. He bought a camera and promised that he won’t stop at anything.
The co-director of Algerian series Sultan Achour S3 also shares how action stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan inspired him. “The one who dreams of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, starts first in Karate without realizing that it didn’t totally fit his dream.” He recalls that when Thai boxing arrived in Algeria it was a fashion. In martial arts based films it was spectacular and he believed that he had the energy to follow the path.