Majd Mastoura (Arabic: àìï àóêÃÂñé) is a Tunisian film actor and translator. At the 66th Berlin International Film Festival he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for his role in the film Hedi.
Majd Mastoura was born in Menzel Abderrahmane, Bizerte, to a military officer father and a classical Arabic teacher mother.
From a young age Mastoura was exposed to theatre, literature, and politics.
In 2012, he started the first spoken-word event in his country, which he dubbed "Street Word". He worked on these events with his close friend Amine Gharbi. These events carried on until 2014, which marked the last version of "Street Word".
In 2013, Majd was given his first role in Bidoun 2, which was his first feature film. In 2015, Majd auditioned for the role of Hedi, which he landed and was eventually awarded the Silver bear in the 66th Berlinale.
Majd also writes in Tunisian Arabic (derja) as a way to show support to his compatriots. In the beginning he kept his writings to himself, then he started submitting them to writing competitions in 2009.
He also translated the French philosophical work La chose publique into Tunisian. He explains his choice to translate into Tunisian Arabic (rather than Standard Arabic) by his emotional relationship to the language (here referred to as dÃÂrja, meaning "common"): "My relationship with Tunisian dÃÂrja is like that of any Tunisian, I speak in dÃÂrja, I think in dÃÂrja, and I dream in dÃÂrja." He explains that, although French and Standard Arabic are part of his linguistic repertoire, "whenever a word comes out of my mouth spontaneously âÂÂfrom surprise or dismay or pleasure or painâÂÂit comes out in dÃÂrja."