El Hedi ben Salem

El Hedi ben Salem (; 1935 – 1977) was a Moroccan actor, best known for his work with film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Early life Salem was born El Hedi ben Salem m'Barek Mohammed Mustafa in a small village in Morocco to a Hartani family. At the age of 15, he married a 13-year-old girl. He and his wife eventually had five children and settled in a town near the Atlas Mountains. By the early 1970s, Salem had left his wife and children and moved to Europe.

Career In early 1971, Salem met German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder at a gay bathhouse in Paris, and the two began a romantic relationship. He moved to West Germany with Fassbinder and became a part of the director's entourage. He played several minor roles in Fassbinder's films. Fassbinder eventually cast Salem in the lead role in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), a film that explores xenophobia in post-World War II Germany. In the film, Salem portrays a Moroccan immigrant living in West Germany who begins a relationship with an older German woman whom he eventually marries. The film brought Fassbinder worldwide critical acclaim and became Salem's best known role. Throughout the mid-1970s, Salem continued to appear in Fassbinder's films in supporting roles. His final onscreen role was in Fassbinder's romantic drama Fox and His Friends in 1975.

Relationship with Fassbinder Salem and Fassbinder's relationship was reportedly tumultuous. They fought frequently due in part to Salem's short temper, which turned violent when he drank. While Fassbinder considered the boys his own, neither he nor Salem was up to the task of raising children. Salem then returned to Fassbinder and told him "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Death After the stabbings, none of which were fatal, Salem fled to France aided by Fassbinder and his friends. Schmid later recalled that Salem had to be "virtually smuggled out of Germany" and that Fassbinder cried the entire time they were driving Salem out of Berlin. News of Salem's death was kept from Fassbinder for years. He did not learn of his former lover's death until shortly before his own death in 1982. Fassbinder dedicated Querelle (1982), his last film, to Salem.

In popular culture In 2012, a documentary on Salem's life titled My Name Is Not Ali, premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival. The film was directed by German filmmaker Viola Shafik.

Filmography