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Mabrouk El Mechri

Mabrouk El Mechri

Director, writer, actor and editor · Born September 18, 1976 (50) · Versailles, France

Mabrouk el Mechri (born 18 September 1976) is a French director, screenwriter, and actor. El Mechri was born in Versailles near Paris, France. He has directed a number of films. After his three shorts Mounir et Anita, Generation Cutter, and Concours de circonstance, he directed his first long feature Virgil in 2005 about the life of a boxer, followed by a comedy entitled Stand Up!. His 2008 movie entitled JCVD about Jean-Claude Van Damme and featuring him as the actor garnered Mabrouk El Mechri critical acclaim. The film, a comedy drama and at certain times biographical of Van Damme was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, 2008 Rome Film Festival (L'Altro Cinema), and the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (Midnight Madness).

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
September 18, 1976 (50)
From
Versailles, France
Works as
Director, writer, actor and editor
Titles
3 on MovieCove · 11 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 14% in 30 days

What are Mabrouk El Mechri's films like?

Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
39%
Morality
21%
Bonds
18%
Survival
16%
Society
6%
Identity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 4 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 3 · Intense 1

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
3
Contemplative
1
Hopeful
2
Melancholic
1
Cathartic
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Bittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Mabrouk El Mechri's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Mabrouk El Mechri's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

11 credits, 3 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Kung Fu Zohra(2021)

    Director · Editor · Writer · as Le manager

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Nox (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Show Creator

  • The Cold Light of Day(2012)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Maison close (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 10 episodes · Director

  • Murphy's Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Writer

  • JCVD(2008)

    Director · Scenario Writer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Une journée avec Jean-Claude Van Damme (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director

  • Tomer Sisley - Stand up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Director

  • Virgil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director · Screenplay

  • Concours de circonstance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director

  • Génération cutter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 11 titles from 2000 to 2022.

Biggest box office

The Cold Light of Day (2012)

$17M worldwide

Highest rated

JCVD (2008)

Midcredits 81st

Most popular right now

The Cold Light of Day (2012)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 11: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting9 of 11: 6 only directing, 3 with another roleWriting4 of 11: 1 only writing, 3 with another roleEditing1 of 11: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 11: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

11 titles, 3 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

2000s7 · crew2010s3 · crew2020s1 · 1 acting · 1 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.

How do Mabrouk El Mechri's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 26th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Approval · how many liked their films

51stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Reach · how many have seen their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 4

Midcredits score across 3 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

2 of their 3 titles are Mixed.

  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · actor, director, writer, editor

Kung Fu Zohra (2021)

61st percentile spread · 29% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

JCVD (2008)

Midcredits 81st · 74% liked

Reviewers score the pacing 47/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 59, detractors 28. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Mabrouk El Mechri work with?

People who share at least 2 of Mabrouk El Mechri's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Karim Belkhadra shares the most, 2.

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers