A philosophy graduate from the University of Besançon with a degree in cinema from the Faculty of Arts in Rennes, Larbi Benchiha worked for six years as a prevention outreach worker before becoming a journalist for France 3 Ouest. He has directed a dozen documentaries exploring social issues, such as social exclusion, hip-hop culture, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Of Algerian origin, he now lives in Brittany. With *Algeria, Its Cinema, and Me* (documentary, 2007), he turned his focus toward his native country. *Sandstorm: The Sahara of Nuclear Tests* (2008) is a documentary that examines the legacy of French colonization.
