Three Films and Sixteen Awards Boubekeur Boukhari: The Artist Who Turned Jewelry into Animation

By Tamer Salah El-Din – Egypt

Art is born with its creator. It grows with them, seeps beneath their skin, and takes root in their soul — together they embark on a journey that never truly ends.

Boubekeur Boukhari, an Algerian artist, studied fine arts in his country’s capital, where he also learned the craft of jewelry making — a passion that would define his path and take him far beyond his homeland.

His artistic journey began in 2002 with a scholarship from the European Union, offered to a group of Arab artists. During this program, he met several animation filmmakers from Walt Disney, who provided him and his peers with an exceptional opportunity to explore the art of animation at a professional level.

Boukhari later refined his jewelry-making skills in Tunisia, where he lived and worked for years as both craftsman and artist. His pursuit of mastery took him even further — to Russia, where he gained new technical expertise before eventually settling in the United Arab Emirates. There, he joined the Ministry of Education in Abu Dhabi, working in the field of art management and planning, helping transform heritage and educational materials — in their pre-production phase — into stories and films that could be understood entirely through imagery, without words or dialogue.

From Jewelry to Animation – “Karouma” The Beginning of a Global Dream:

Boukhari’s first independent grant came from the Abu Dhabi Media Zone, allowing him to produce his debut animated film “Karouma” — a name that, in many Arabic dialects including Algerian, is a diminutive of “Karim” or “Abd el-Karim.”

In this work, the artist wove fragments of his own life stories into the narrative. The film travelled to eighty film festivals around the world, earning ten international awards.

Its success lay in Boukhari’s remarkable ability to let his characters express their emotions — joy, anger, gossip — through sound and rhythm, without uttering a single word. Among the ten prizes Karouma received, Boukhari cherishes most the one from the Houston Festival, one of the most specialized competitions in the field of animation.

His following project, “Dadi and Doudi”, was originally conceived by a young girl participating in a children’s program on Abu Dhabi TV. When the idea didn’t move forward, Boukhari reimagined and produced it independently as a short film.

His most recent work, “Ajiba and Gharib”, has already won six awards at international film festivals, including the Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival (2025, 41st edition.)

“Ajiba and Gharib” A Crocodile Made of Diamonds:

The film tells the story of Ajiba and Gharib, two friends separated by a river. Every day they meet from opposite banks, until one day Gharib disappears without a trace. Ajiba continues to wait for him in vain, until she decides to cross the river — guarded by a crocodile that forbids anyone from passing between the shores.

In a bold move, she throws a heavy stone at the sleeping creature, striking its head and waking it up. When the startled crocodile demands an explanation, she tells him of her missing friend. Moved by her courage, he agrees to let her cross — but only if she helps cure his toothache. She does, and finally reunites with Gharib.

The film combines humor, suspense, and a touching message about friendship, bravery, loyalty, and compassion. Yet the most fascinating aspect lies in Boukhari’s visual design: the crocodile itself, sculpted with the precision of a jeweler. During a private screening, it became clear that the creature could be deconstructed into pieces of jewelry — a brooch, a circular earring, a diamond-studded ring, a bracelet.

An Artistic Philosophy and a Japanese Award for Innovation:

Boukhari explains:

“I wanted to develop animation design further, so I returned to study and research for two years. I discovered that the roots of animation lie in shadow theatre, which our Arab ancestors mastered. They crafted storytelling boxes, created figurines for oral tales, and carried them from one country to another — sharing and adapting them until they became part of our common heritage.”

He continues:

“I used jewelry design techniques to create animated characters — becoming the first artist in the world to do so. Recently, I was honored with the Unique Innovation Award at an international competition in Japan for this very achievement.”

Speaking about the challenges facing Arab animators, Boukhari adds:

“The biggest obstacle is the lack of funding. When artists present their work to production companies, they’re often paid very little and must surrender their intellectual property rights. The producers themselves often forfeit those rights to TV channels, meaning both the artist and the studio lose their moral and financial ownership — while the broadcaster may or may not even air the film.”

Boukhari has also written and illustrated children’s stories that carry moral lessons, including “The Bird and the Snake.”

He says:

“My stories aren’t just for children — they’re for everyone. I plan to publish one new story each year while continuing to develop and direct my films. I allocate my budget mainly to distributing my work in international festivals rather than selling it, because I refuse to give up intellectual rights. Instead, I release them on exclusive digital platforms that offer fair revenue per view.”

A Contemporary Vision of Arab Heritage:

Discussing his artistic philosophy and future goals, Boukhari states:

“Arab heritage is rich with expressive stories. I search the past, then reshape it for the present. I draw to express myself — to present my art to the world. I connect story and character, working mainly in black and white, with one additional color for balance.”

He concludes: "The award I received in Japan for creative innovation confirmed that I’m on the right path. It strengthened my belief that Arab imagination can truly compete globally — once it possesses the right tools.”

Thanks to his distinct vision, Boukhari has built professional relationships with international animators from France and Japan, exchanging both technical and conceptual knowledge. These collaborations have helped him develop a unique artistic identity — blending East and West, merging folk narrative with modern storytelling.

In essence, Boubekeur Boukhari is not just an animation director.

He is a jeweler of dreams — shaping light and metal into a shimmering world where the Arab story glows anew, timeless and profoundly human.