El Hedi ben Salem

Acting

Born January 1, 1936 · Morocco

Died January 1, 1976

Also known as Elhedi Ben Salem · El Hedi Ben Salem · Salem El Heïdi

Biography

El Hedi ben Salem was a Moroccan actor. He is best known as the lover and collaborator of provocative German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He died while in prison. Fassbinder dedicated his last film, Querelle (1982), to Salem. In 2012, a documentary on Salem's life entitled My Name Is Not Ali, premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival.