Iliès Terki | Director
ILIÈS TERKI is a filmmaker based in Hamburg. His work blends genres and styles, shaped by nuanced storytelling. He explores cultural hybridity and challenges common beliefs about identity, using tantalizing imagery, subtle performances, and minimal dialogue to reflect on universal themes.Born in Oran during the Algerian Civil War of the 1990s, Terki began his path in music and advertising before shifting fully into film. He studied in Madrid and Paris, spent time in New York, and now lives and works in Hamburg.In 2016, he launched the Idle Films Anthology — 52 short films and vignettes, each marking a week in the year-long calendar. Filmed across Europe and the Mediterranean, the series captures moments of connection, loss, and the extraordinary in the everyday. He also directed acclaimed music videos for Joel Havea and Small Fires.Terki shares his approach to visual storytelling at Miami Ad School, leads workshops at EICAR in Paris, and teaches an online course on short filmmaking via Domestika. He is the founder of Idle Films, a production house dedicated to short and long-form fiction and commissioned projects.Through fiction, Terki explores what it means to be human in a technology-dominated world. His multicultural lens brings sensitivity and detail to the small gestures that define how we live, love, and drift through time.
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About the project
Getting Lost
A couple's search for a lighthouse during a weekend trip strains their relationship to the breaking point. Can they cut through the darkness and find their light again?
Getting Lost is Episode Nº49, part of the Idle Shorts Anthology. Learn more on Idlefilms.tv
12 Mins ShortNovember — 2023
About the project
Hitchhiking
This is a short film about Sarah's hitchhiking journey through Provence. Our story explores unpredictability in an age where traveling and meeting strangers is becoming a lost art.
Hitchhiking (Sur le Pouce) is Episode Nº12, part of the Idle Shorts Anthology. Learn more on Idlefilms.tv
15 Mins ShortNovember — 2023
About the project
To See a Woman
"To See a Woman" explores themes of wanderlust and the deep human longing for connection and love. The title pays tribute to Schwarzenbach's short novel "Eine Frau zu sehen."
To See a Woman is Episode Nº41, part of the Idle Shorts Anthology. Learn more on Idlefilms.tv
12 Mins ShortNovember — 2023
About the project
All Things Burn
ALL THINGS BURN, uses fire as a metaphor to explore the complexities of human nature and our relationship with nature. It is a moving tale of resilience and hope, inspired by the the devastating 2021 wildfire in the South of France.
Ivan's Gift is Episode Nº06, part of the Idle Shorts Anthology. Learn more on Idlefilms.tv
10 Mins ShortNovember — 2023
About the project
Ivan's Gift
IVAN'S GIFT is an unconventional short thriller that follows the journey of survival of an outlaw through the lens of Autism. An escape from death and an unforeseen encounter becomes a catalyst, opening up a possibility of a different life.
Ivan's Gift is Episode Nº06, part of the Idle Shorts Anthology. Learn more on Idlefilms.tv
12 Mins ShortNovember — 2023
About the project
Going Gone
The music video explores the idea of constant movement towards new horizons, inspired by the song's theme of letting go. It challenges the one-take technique with complex shots on a small budget.
3 Mins Music VideoJuly — 2016
About the project
Sunny Side up
This is a short film about love and music. It’s also about gentrification and the challenges associated with precarious living and life as a musician.
Sunny Side Up (Les Oeufs au Plat) is Episode Nº23, part of the Idle Shorts Anthology. Learn more on Idlefilms.tv
10 Mins ShortNovember — 2023
About the project
Backstroke
From sunset to dusk, two young girls and a hazy boy celebrate their youth with a ruthless force and ever-expanding desire for life.
3 Mins Music VideoJuly — 2018
About the project
About the project
En Marge
Wassim Benslimane, the son of Algerian-born parents, overcame a difficult childhood to become an exceptional football freestyler and an inspiration to others.
03:54 Mins Docu-FictionOctober — 2016
About the project
Raw with Love
This film is based on a poem by Charles Bukowski. It explores a visual interpretation inspired by the dark mood infused in the verses of Bukowski's Raw with Love.
03 Mins ExperimentalOctober — 2015