Iliès Terki

Hi, I’m Iliès Terki — filmmaker and founder of Idle Films in Hamburg. I create intimate, visual stories built around atmosphere, rhythm, and rich fictional worlds. Dialogue plays a growing role in my work, but I still believe the best films show more than they tell.

I grew up in Oran, Algeria. My creative path began in music design and advertising — first working with still images, then moving ones. I studied in Madrid, Paris, and New York before settling in Hamburg in 2009, where I now write, direct, and produce independently.

In 2016, I launched the Idle Films Anthology — a cinematic journal of 52 short films, one for each week of a fictional year. The project traces how we stay close, drift apart, and try to feel something real. Moving between the ordinary and the extraordinary, the films map out memory, emotion, and the quiet truths of being human.

On Domestika, I teach how to craft cinematic stories with minimal tools — using light, gesture, sound, and silence to create strong emotional impact, even with limited resources. I’ve also taught at Miami Ad School and led workshops at EICAR in Paris. This course is designed to help you build your own short film — intentional, focused, and personal.

If you’re drawn to stories that linger — that don’t rush to explain — you’ll feel at home here.