[citation needed] He is a graduate of the Free Conservatory of French Cinema (Conservatoire libre du cinéma français),[1] and laureate of the Fondation Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet in 1993.
After L'Enfance Égarée (1993), a short film released in theaters in the program Four Urban Legends, he directed his first feature, Le Gone du Chaâba [fr] (1997), that was nominated at the César Awards.
[1][6] He is the initiator of a support movement in France for the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, an opponent of the annexation of Crimea, who was sentenced by Russia in 2015 to twenty years in prison for "acts of terrorism" and "arms trafficking" during a trial described as "Stalinist" by Amnesty International.
[7][8][9] In the 2010s, he signed numerous forums and petitions, defending in particular undocumented workers, high school students engaged against police violence, Cédric Herrou—known for his help to migrants—and human rights in Syria.
[16] Director Mona Achache, Ruggia's former romantic partner, testified for the investigation of Mediapart: "He had confided to me to have feelings of being in love for Adèle during the promotional tour of Les Diables."
Cangioni had to quit the filming of Les Diables in 2001 due to "burnout" and she is presented by Marianne as being one of the four people who, during the investigation by Médiapart, claimed "to have felt something abnormal" in the relationship between Ruggia and Haenel during the shooting.