A difficult childhood?
It is always difficult for immigrants, but in my case it was very painful. Our parents came from another world.
What did they do?
My mother gave birth to 11 children in 15 years. She was always pregnant. How can you be a mother if you have a life like this? My father worked at night guarding a train station.
When and why did he run away from home?
I wanted to be a free woman, today that is still the most important thing for me. I did not want to obey my father's law. I left when I was 16.
What was the problem with his father?
He was lost, he was an illiterate and violent alcoholic, he came from an archaic world and this was his world view.
You went to Paris.
I had to find my way. He went from night club to night club. he was happy
But what did he eat?
I had friends here and there, it was easy and very soon I became a model for Christian Louboutin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Azzedin Alaïa, and they became my best friends.
How did they discover it?
Because every night she was dancing like crazy at the Palace, ha ha ha! The photographer Jean-Paul Goude noticed me, I was not the typical girl of the time.
What made it different?
I walked with attitude, smoking, chewing gum, I was arrogant, a girl with character, and I wouldn't let anyone step on me.
In the eighties the models were like goddesses.
It was an explosion of top models, they even called my name when I paraded.
And didn't that drive her a little crazy?
I wasn't ready for fame, I was very scared, I kept my distance, I didn't trust people. Then I had my children and worked as Azzedine Alaïa's fashion director. First I was in front of the camera and then behind it, it was very interesting.
And the next step was the cinema.
I started making documentaries about Christian Louboutin. I did one about the Arab Spring and the young people who revolted: I went to shoot in Tunisia in the middle of the revolution, with a curfew, but I was happy for that awakening.
What has become of that movement?
It seems to have failed, but it is not true. It has had repercussions, things are changing, albeit slowly because our world was very archaic. My latest documentary is Beyond the Veil, about women who live and work in the Middle East.
And what do you want to explain?
The idea was to fight against the stereotypes and victimization of Arab women in the West. It shows strong, fighting women: chefs, artists, writers, designers...women just like us. It is the other side of the veil. I remember interviewing a Tunisian artist who wore a burqa.
Curious combination.
Fascinating, because she was fully covered but at the same time she was a very free woman. Her husband helped her, took her handbag and even took pictures of her. I can't imagine an Arab man doing this for his wife, it was like they had the roles reversed. I think keeping his face covered was an artistic thing and it works.
What do you think of the Taliban regime?
You cannot subjugate half the population, one way or another they will end up understanding that they need women for the health of the country.
Having been brought up in the Muslim culture, was it difficult to be a model?
It was very difficult to pose in front of the cameras. I never wore lingerie or was photographed naked.
What fundamental facts have marked your life?
When I was young I was ignorant with very strong ideas, but I have not stopped learning daily. One day you think that something is essential and immediately you realize that it is not that important, you cannot be exhaustive, everything is changing. Today I am more skeptical.
What was your best age?
Now, because I accept myself much more than before, when I felt uncomfortable with my body, with my hair, with everything. Today I see the changes of age in me, but I think: "Well, it's the quetenim". In life you learn continuously, the day you stop, you die.
The most fundamental thing you've learned?
To be much more aware of what I say because words can hurt, I used to say what was on my mind. And I've learned to be grateful.
What do you appreciate?
Everything, even my childhood, which was very difficult but made me take control of my life. You have to accept the past because it made you who you are.
Has he seen his parents again?
No, and my mom died a year ago, that's life. She lived with a violent alcoholic, she had Stockholm syndrome, life was very hard for her, I can't blame her.
