Background
Salem was born El Hedi ben Salem m"Barek Mohammed Mustafa in a small village in Morocco, the child of a Berber family.
Salem was born El Hedi ben Salem m"Barek Mohammed Mustafa in a small village in Morocco, the child of a Berber family.
He met director Rainer Werner Fassbinder at a gay bathhouse in Paris in early 1971 and the two began a relationship. He moved to Germany with Fassbinder and became a part of director"s entourage. He would go on play several minor roles in Fassbinder"s films.
Fassbinder eventually cast Salem in the lead role in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974), a film that explores racism in post-World World War II Germany.
In the film, Salem portrays a Moroccan immigrant living in Germany who begins a relationship with an older German woman whom he eventually marries. The film brought Fassbinder worldwide critical acclaim and the role of "Ali" became Salem"s best known role.
This arrangement did not last long as the children were unprepared for life in a different culture and Salem and Fassbinder were not up to the task of raising children. Both frequently drank and took drugs and left the children with others
One of Salem"s sons returned to his mother in Morocco while the other went to different homes and finally, a reformatory.
Salem and Fassbinder"s relationship was reportedly tumultuous. They fought frequently due in part to Salem"s short temper which turned violent when he drank. In 1974, Fassbinder broke off the relationship due to Salem"s violence and drinking.
After the breakup, Salem began drinking more heavily.
After the stabbings (none of which were fatal), Salem fled to France aided by Fassbinder and his friends. Schmid later recalled that Salem had to be "virtually smuggled out of Germany" and that Fassbinder cried the entire time they were driving Salem out of Berlin.
While in France, Salem was arrested and jailed. While in custody at a prison in Nîmes in 1977, Salem hanged himself.
News of Salem"s death was intentionally kept from Fassbinder for years.
He did not learn of his former lover"s death until shortly before his own death in 1982. Fassbinder dedicated his last film Querelle (1982), to Salem. In 2012, a documentary on Salem"s life entitled My Name Is Not Ali, premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival.
The film was directed by German filmmaker Viola Shafik.