Ghorbal studied at the Dramatic Art Center of
Tunis. He arrived in
France in 1970 to complete his theatrical training, at the International University of Theatre in Paris, at the
University of Paris VIII and then at the Jacques Lecoq Mime School Mouvement Théâtre. He launched his career as an actor, then as a theater director. For nearly ten years, he programmed and directed two
art house theaters in the Paris region. In 1996, he directed
El Mokhtar (The Chosen One), his first short fiction film, addressing the issue of
fundamentalism and the brainwashing of youth. The film was selected in many international festivals. In 1999 he left for
Tunisia to shoot
Fatma, his first feature film. The film premiered at
Cannes and won a number of prizes, notably at the FESPACO. == Filmography ==