Originally from Algiers, Algeria, Ella Tounessi is based in Paris and has worked worldwide for the past 15 years, as an experimental and ‘emotional narrative’ filmmaker, screen writer and editor for fiction, documentary, commercial, fashion and music films. She is currently working on the screen-writing of a feature film drama, Palm Beach, that will be shot in Algeria, and on documentary films on sustainable development for the United Nations.

Her passion for cinema and story telling began while growing up in Rome. She studied film theory at the Sorbonne in Paris and earned a BA in film production in New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.

Ella’s fascination with visuals and narratives led her to participate in film-writing and directing in Paris, New York, Algiers, and in Africa, directing more than 20 documentaries for sustainable development produced by the United Nations- Unicef, UN Women, UN AIDS, UNHCR, United Nations Development Program —that have been screened worldwide. She won best documentary at the US AID film competition, and screen-writing prizes with her co-writer Pauline Racine in France, Lebanon and Egypt.

As an ‘experimental & emotional narrative’ filmmaker, she loves playing with expanding the image aesthetic, developing experimental emotional narratives in the fashion world for iconic brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Cartier, Ralph Laurent and for Vogue magazine. She has extensive experience in visual production from development to post-production. Her credits include Camera Operator and Editor in more than 20 film projects, and Digital Communication consultant, She was Post-production supervisor of 15 TV editors for a mainstream tv show, and has acted in theater and TV In New York and Paris.