A book lifts the veil on the tragic destiny of Marwan Berreni, star of “Plus belle la vie”, and his links with his brother.
The tragedy has already made the front page of the tabloid press. In August 2023, Marwan Berrenistar actor of the series More beautiful life in the role of Abdel Fedala, disappears without a trace, after accidentally hitting a woman with a 4×4. The body of the actor will be found a few weeks later, in October 2023, in an uninhabited farm in the Rhône. The actor hanged himself, obviously in despair. This sudden disappearance shocked the world of television, especially since Berreni was to reprise his character in the sequel to the series, on TF1.
But behind this sad end lies another, more unknown tragedy, that of his brother, Bilal. It is this double destiny that journalist Charlotte Chaffanjon explores with finesse in her book, “Deux Frères”, published by Les Arènes this week. Based on an in-depth investigation, it retraces the journey of the Berreni brothers, united by a close bond, despite having personalities and characters that are polar opposites. If the voluble Marwan had made a name for himself on the small screen, his junior, 18 months old, is described as discreet, solitary, even antisocial. But he also has a talent: an urban artist under the name of Zoo Project, he will be recognized and even star in the community before being, too, cut down in his tracks.
The author depicts two endearing boys, “quasi-twins”, born into a family of Franco-Algerian immigrants from eastern Paris. Their parents, tested by life, instilled in them a sense of fraternity. Gifted students, the Berreni brothers cultivated their respective talents, one with graffiti on the walls of cities and museums, the other in front of the camera. When Marwan plays on his popularity and dreams of success, Bilal, his beloved brother, lives and travels alone, often penniless, totally disinterested in money and success. Until he was assassinated in murky circumstances in the United States in 2013.
When he arrived in Detroit at the time, at the age of 23, Bilal wanted to touch this city battered by the crisis and almost dilapidated. Squatting alone, he skateboards in the red light districts of the former automobile stronghold. It’s a bad encounter that will win the day: Bilal will be killed for his wallet. Empty.
The book notably highlights Marwan’s unspeakable trauma after the sudden loss of this brother he admired so much, his guilt for having paid him the one-way ticket to America, his funny ideas and his touchy character which resurfaced after this loss, his alcohol consumption increasingly worrying too. Charlotte Chaffanjon suggests, without ever stating it, that the actor never recovered from this impossible mourning, Bilal’s corpse having disappeared for many months before being identified. Circumstances which echo those, mysterious, of his own death, Marwan Berreni having also been found hanged, in October 2023, long after his disappearance.
More than a simple biography, “Deux Frères” is a moving dive into the destiny and psyche of Marwan Berreni, from his bright childhood to his tragic end, through the prism of his relationship with this brother who left too soon. Charlotte Chaffanjon writes a poignant, almost romantic story, which sheds new light on the suffering of a promising actor loved by the public. A book for fans certainly, so as not to forget the talent, but also the humanity of Marwan Berreni, but also a necessary human book.