Taha El Amiri (Abderrahmane Bastandji)

Abderrahmane Bastandji, known by his stage name Taha El Amiri, began acting under master Mahieddine Bachtarzi in 1947. In 1958, following the directives of the FLN leadership in Tunis, he escaped to Tunisia to co-found the historic FLN Artistic Troupe alongside Mustapha Kateb.

The troupe toured worldwide to explain the justice of the Algerian Revolution through dramatic art. After independence, El Amiri headed the National Broadcasting Theater, led the Algerian National Theater (TNA), and acted in landmark historical productions, living to age 96 as a revered father of Algerian theatrical culture.