Fort Algiers

The film recounts in three parts by three different directors the Algerian people's struggle for independence after 130 years of French colonization: Ahmed Bedjaoui "Les Fedayines," Rabah Laradji "La Bombe," Sid Ali Mazif "Le Messager."

A harrowing picture of the heritage of colonialism, focusing on a man driven mad by torture but saved by his wife, who restores his sanity and leads the progressive forces to rebuild the village.

Historical film in four scenes which retrace the returns, the progress and the outcome of the war of liberation in Algeria. The first painting, “The land was thirsty” describes aspects of injustice and colonial oppression. The second “The Paths to the Prison” recounts the sufferings of the people engaged in combat. The last two are the stories of two lives.

This film was considered a testing ground for young O.N.C.I.C. directors. Today there is no longer a copy and the negative was accidentally destroyed. The Algerian Cinematheque has a copy of the very beautiful part shot by Abderrahmane Bouguermouh "La Give": A young schoolgirl from Kabylia is tasked by the resistance fighters with transmitting a message which is hidden in a thrush...

In one of the tribes of the Algerian Sahara, everyone awaits the arrival of the hero who will defend the rights of the poor. A man decides one day to put the mark of the "hero" on his newborn son and the whole tribe celebrates the arrival of this eagerly awaited messiah who came to save them. This false hero then grows up by assuming his role of savior. Filled with cynicism, he crosses the countryside and has a number of adventures.

Made just three years after the end of the French-Algerian War (1954-1962), Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle Of Algiers instantly ignited discussions of this complex historical period. Using the film as a point of reference, this 2004 documentary attempts to reconstruct the Algerian experience of the battle for independence.

In 1962, René Vautier, together with some Algerian friends, organised the audio-visual formation centre Ben Aknoun to encourage a "dialogue in images" between the two factions. Together with his students he made a film that shows the history of the Algerian War and of the ALN (National Liberation Army), and life during the reconstruction.

While trying by all means to stay out of the bloody turmoil caused by the Battle of Algiers, Hassan, an honest and naive family man, is wrongfully accused of terrorism by the French colonial army in "Hassan Terro." After escaping in "The Escape of Hassan Terro," Hassan is forced to join the resistance in "Hassan Terro in the Maquis."

The film traces the story of a patrol of the Algerian National Liberation Army (ALN), whose mission is to transport a prisoner French soldier to the Tunisian border. Through the march of this group of guerrillas we witness the spirit of sacrifice and combativeness of these men from the people. The patrol will be decimated, but a young peasant will take over and complete the mission.

In Algiers, during the Algerian War of Independence, one of the leaders of the FLN was arrested by the French colonial army, which used the most violent methods to make the prisoners speak. The use of torture poses a conscience problem for a French officer. Playing shot-reverse-shot, between the tortured and his torturer, in a suffocating camera, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina approaches torture by drawing inspiration from the story of his father, who died of abuse.

Five young Italian climbers, Paolo Grunanger, Lorenzo Marimonti, Pietro Meciani, Lodovico Gaetani and Giorgio Gualco, members of the expedition organized under the patronage of the Milanese section of the Italian Alpine Club, reached Tamanrasset, in Hoggar, the Tuareg kingdom. From there, with a caravan of camels, they head towards the mountainous volcanic chain of Tahalra, little known to Westerners. During the exploration, climbers will climb seven virgin peaks via very difficult routes and at the same time carry out topographical surveys.

The Algerian Sahara is the most exceptional deserts. He densifies everything he hosts, men and nature, and invites you to pay attention to the world. Jean-Louis and Odette Bernezat were born at the foot of the Alps, but it was in the Sahara that they found their way, and devoted almost forty years to the discovery of this environment and have extraordinary knowledge to share. Director Maryse Bergonzat accompanies them, in a meha, in the Hoggar in Algeria, with their Tuareg friends. A privileged place to appreciate the desert, its landscapes, its inhabitants, its laws and its stories, in the company of exceptional guides.