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To play Mohamed Bida in “13 days, 13 nights” by Martin Bourboulon, Roschdy Zem mainly focused on the commander's past.
For an actor, embodying a real and still alive person is a real responsibility. With 13 days, 13 nights from Martin Bourboulon, Roschdy Zem had the mission of playing Mohamed Bida, commander thanks to which more than 2,800 Afghan civilians could be exfiltrated to escape the Taliban in Kabul, in August 2021.
The actor is clear: the important thing was not to imitate, but to bring a vision of the character. The two men only met once, for lunch, but to build the role, Roschdy Zem turned to the testimony book of Mohamed Bida, published in 2022 by Denoël editions.
What route before Afghanistan?
“”There is a part in the book that there is not in the film, it is his personal journey, I would even say intimateexplains the actor to Allociné. We cannot interpret a police commander if we do not have some elements on the experience. The book is very rich in that. I recommend reading it because the film only talks about exfiltration. “
In the past, Mohamed Bida worked for the anti-crime brigade then the brigade of repression of organized crime in Versailles and Lyon. Later, he was responsible for the security of important politicians, from Benyamin Netanyahu to Bill Clinton. It was not until 2016, five years before the events reported in the film, that he was sent to Afghanistan with the aim of protecting the French Embassy.
Mohamed Bida's “modesty”
“”I had enough elements to build a charactercontinues Roschdy Zem. We make a role from information but also from our imagination and our fantasies. To perfect this manufacturing, there was our meeting which added some nuances. In our discussion together, I liked the modesty of Mohamed Bida and I added this notion that seemed important to me. “
The modesty that Roschdy Zem speaks is that of not considering himself a hero. “”For me, Mohamed Bida is one but for him, he simply has a mission that he must accomplishdetails the actor. Without this book and without this film, he would have stayed in the shadows and he would not have been unhappy. He did this because it is his commitment, his duty, it's 40 years in the police.“”
Interview by Thomas Desroches, in Paris, June 17, 2025
13 days, 13 nights is currently in the cinema
