Mabrouk el Mechri born 18 September 1976 is a French director screenwriter and actor El Mechri was born in Versailles near Paris France He has directed a number of films After his three shorts Mounir et Anita Generation Cutter and Concours de circonstance he directed his first long feature Virgil in 2005 about the life of a boxer followed by a comedy entitled Stand Up His 2008 movie entitled JCVD about JeanClaude Van Damme and featuring him as the actor garnered Mabrouk El Mechri critical acclaim The film a comedy drama and at certain times biographical of Van Damme was screened at the Cannes Film Festival 2008 Rome Film Festival LAltro Cinema and the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness