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Sofia Djama is an Algerian screenwriter and director who was born in Oran, Algeria in 1979. She received three awards at the Venice Film Festival in 2017 for her first full-length motion picture The Blessed (Les Bienheureux). Djama and Abdellatif Kechiche are the only two directors from Africa to achieve this milestone.

Early Life
Sofia Djama was born in Oran, Algeria but grew up in Béjaïa, (formerly known as Bougie). In 1999, she moved to Algiers to carry out her studies in Foreign Language and Literature. She later decided to remain in Algiers after finishing her studies.

She then worked in advertising and at the same time wrote short stories, which she would use a few years later to create her first short films: Softly One Saturday Morning (Mollement, un samedi matin), the story of a rapist without an erection.

Career
Softly One Saturday Morning was released in 2012 and it was met with a positive reception. It won two awards at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the ACSE and the Best First Fictional Film. This film was also presented at the Malmö Arab Film Festival in Sweden, the Journées Cinématographiques in Algiers and at other various short film festivals around the world.

In 2017, Djama released a full-length feature film, The Blessed (Les Bienheureux). This film follows the lives of characters living in Algiers post-civil war. Due to is She received two awards for this film at the Venice Film Festival. The first one, the Brian Award, is given to a film that defends the values of human rights, democracy, diversity and freedom of thought, without distinction for gender or sexual orientation. Djama was also awarded the Lina Mangiacapre Award, named after an Italian feminist filmmaker. This prize is given to a work which changes the representation and image of women in cinema.

The award for best actress in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival was given to one of the film’s actors, Lyna Khoudri.

In January 2018, Djama, with her film The Blessed, participated in the 19th Black Movie Festival in Geneva, Switzerland, where she received the Public Award.

Personal Life
In 2015, Djama supported a young woman who was denied access to University for a skirt that was deemed too short. She created a specific Facebook page : #My dignity is not decided by the length of my skirt. (#Ma Dignité n'est pas dans la longueur de ma jupe).

Djama identifies as an activist, and joined protests when she was fourteen years old.

Regarding her relationship with Islam, Djama states “I’m agnostic, but I say that I am from the Arab-Muslim culture because I was steeped in that. I don’t reject my culture and my Arab-Muslim heritage”.

As Director
2012: Les 100 pas de Monsieur X, Fictional short Film

2012: Softly One Saturday Morning, Fictional short film.

2017: The Blessed, Full-length fictional film

As Screenwriter
2012: Les 100 pas de Monsieur X, short film

2012: Softly One Saturday Morning, short film

2017: Les Bienheureux, full-length film