Algerian filmmaker Benamar Bakhti died in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in Algiers, following a long illness, The National Council of Copyright and Related Rights (ONDA) said.

Born in 1941 in Tlemcen, the deceased was trained at the Institute for Advanced Film Studies in Paris (Idhec) before working as assistant of television in France and with French filmmakers like Claude Lelouch and Jean-Paul Sassy.

Director of TV movies for the RTA (The Algerian Radio and Television) after his return to Algeria, he is the author of popular feature films like "The Epic of Scheikh Bouamama" (1983) and "At-taxi El Mekhfi" (the Clandestine taxi driver, 1991), a historical film and a comedy in which actor Athman Airouet had leading roles.

The deceased will be buried Thursday afternoon at El Alia cemetery in Algiers.