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Biyouna, whose real name is Baya Bouzar, renowned singer, comedian and actress, died this Tuesday, at the age of 73, at Beni Messous hospital in Algiers. We will remember that his work earned him the esteem of a wide audience, beyond the Algerian borders, thanks to his legendary outspokenness and his characters engraved in memory.
The artist had been battling cancer since 2016 and suffered from serious respiratory failure which had required multiple hospitalizations in recent weeks, until his breathing stopped. Born on September 13, 1952 in the Belouizdad district (formerly Belcourt) in Algiers, Baya Bouzar was attracted to singing and the stage very early on. As a teenager, she joined several musical troupes. She was first part of Fadhéla Dziria’s group, where she provided backing vocals, before leading her own small group with her friend Flifla. She quickly established herself as a sought-after entertainer at Algiers weddings and parties.
At 17, she was already performing in the capital’s major cabarets. At 19, she became a dancer at the Copacabana, and it was during this period that the director Mustapha Badie noticed her. He offered him his first role in the television series “La Grande Maison” (1973), adapted from the novel by Mohamed Dib. She plays Fatma, a character who reveals her to the public and definitively launches her career. Biyouna really started in cinema at 22 years old. She appears in numerous Algerian productions and gradually establishes herself as an essential face of the small screen. A plethora of films, television films and series make up her career, where she moves from comedy to drama with fluidity.
His career took on an international dimension, with a notable presence in France, from 1999, when the filmmaker Nadir Moknèche entrusted him with the role of Meriem in “Le Harem de Madame Osmane”. The director then gave him two other notable roles in “Viva Laldjérie” (2003) and “Délice Paloma” (2007). The artist also appears in several French productions, including “Les Trois Frères: Le Retour” (2014), “Neuilly sa Mère, sa Mère!” » (2018) or even “Le Flic de Belleville” (2018), alongside Omar Sy. She has played leading roles in many films, among others, “The Belleville Cop” (2018), the short film “We will miss” (2018), “The Three Brothers” (2014), “The Harem of Madame Osmane” (2000), “The Apprentice’s Vacation” (1999) and “Leïla and the Others” (1978). His performance in At My Age I Still Hide to Smoke (2017), marked by daring scenes, caused a sensation.
Biyouna made a lasting impression on spectators thanks to the trilogy “Nass Mlah City” (2002–2005), a real Ramadan phenomenon in Algeria, then through her role in the Tunisian sitcom “Nsibti Laaziza” broadcast in 2010, which she continued until season 6. Without forgetting that she also participated in the show “Opéra d’Casbah” by Fellag. His last role on screen dates back to “Dar Lefchouch de Djafar Gacem” (2023).
Despite her success in the cinema, Biyouna never gives up her first passion, music. In 2001, she released her first album “Raid Zone”, the result of a collaboration with composer John Bagnolett. She continued in 2004 with “Une Blonde dans la Casbah”, designed with musicians and arrangers such as Joseph Racaille and Christophe Dupouy. In 2011, she lent her voice to the song “Bergman” by Julien Doré for the album “Bichon”.
In addition to cinema and music, Biyouna regularly explores the theater scene. She has performed in demanding creations, such as “Electre by Sophocles” alongside Jane Birkin in 2006. In 2009, she performed “La Célestine” at the Vingtième Théâtre in Paris. Directed by Ramzy, his first solo show, “Biyouna!” », was performed in 2012 at the Théâtre Marigny. His artistic talent, mixing sensuality, cheekiness, humor and nostalgia, has shaped a unique artistic character.
For more precise information regarding the circumstances of her disappearance, the artist was hospitalized for the first time on November 4 at Baïnem hospital, before being transferred to the pulmonology department of Beni Messous, where her condition quickly worsened. She suffered from severe respiratory failure, complications related to oxygen saturation, as well as the effects of cancer diagnosed in 2016, according to the information provided. Despite a long battle with illness, she continued to work when her condition permitted, maintaining until the end the image of a tenacious artist deeply attached to the public.
With more than half a century of career, Biyouna leaves behind a dense and very inspiring filmography. The disappearance of this figure shocked those close to him, the public and the entire cultural community. His contribution to Algerian and Franco-Algerian culture is, at present, the subject of widespread homage, both in Algeria and in France.
The President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed “his sadness after the loss of one of the celebrities of the Algerian cultural scene”, highlighting his role in the promotion of national cinema.
A multidisciplinary artist, Biyouna has left her mark on different generations with her caustic humor, her outspokenness, but also her ability to embody complex and deeply human female characters. Between stage exuberance and keen sense of dramatic performance, she has constructed a unique work, at the crossroads of theater, cinema and music. Biyouna has passed away, but her mark remains.
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