By Flora Boumia *
On August 24, 2021, in the presence of the mayor of the city, the president and vice-president of the Departmental Council, the vice-consul of Algeria, Bordeaux, the delegate general of Algeria to Unesco and the organizers of the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, a raising of the Algerian and French flags took place, waving the two flags on the pediment of the town hall of Angoulême. Indeed, Marie-France Brière and Dominique Besnehard, delegates of the Angoulême francophone film festival, pay tribute this year to Algeria on the occasion of the 14th edition which ended on Sunday 29 August. Thus, during the opening, Algerian women dressed in their most beautiful traditional outfits to sing the Algerian national anthem “Kassamen” on the forecourt of the Town Hall, greeted by youyous … This tribute has been surrounded by works from the personal collection of Claude Lemand exhibited for those of Abdallah Benanteur at the Angoulême Museum, at the Comic Strip Museum for those of Mahjoub Benbella and finally at the Espace Franquin for those of Denis Martinez. The Algerian music performed, by Sofiane Saidi and Mehdi Heddab, at the oûd, enchanted the guests at the opening of the festival, in the presence of the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot, the president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, and other political figures.
13 Algerian films on the program
A program of 13 films, starting from the year 1975 when the Palme d’Or was awarded to the film “Chronicle of the Years of Ember” by director Mohammed Lakhdar Hamina, passing by “From Hollywood to Tamanrasset” by Mahmoud Zemmouri, from “Omar Gatlato” and the “Famile” by Merzak Allouache, by “Cheb” by Rachid Bouchareb, “l’Oranais” by Lyes Salem, “Le Harem de Mme Osman”, “Lola Pater” by Nadir Moknèche, by “Nahla” by Farouk Beloufa, “Le soleil assassiné” by Abdelkrim Bahloul, “Abou Leila” by Amin Sidi-Boumedieène, “At my age I hide to smoke” by Rayhana, “Honey cigar” by Kamir Aînouz, and the recent documentary “Their stories” by young director Lina Soualem. The organizers were able to choose a high quality jury chaired by Nicole Garcia, native of Oran who surrounded herself with actor Réda Kateb, Leïla Meddour, a great radio and television journalist, and five other big names in the world of cinema. Among them, we will note a costume designer, Catherine Leterrier nominated for the Oscars, the rapper Oxmo Puccino, Franco-Malian, officer of the Order of Arts and Letters; a writer, namely Marie Ndiaye winner of the 2009 Goncourt Prize and two directors Antonin Baudry and Philippe Van Leeuw.
The rooms are sold out
At each screening, the cinemas were sold out. The public strongly appreciates Algerian films. This Festival brought the public back to theaters and presented an eclectic program without borders. We saw the film “Le Passé” by Iranian filmmaker Ashgar Farhadi, “A story of love and desire” by Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid, and above all the film “Haut et fort” by Nabil Ayouch which caused a sensation at the time. of its projection while being strongly ovationed. This film immerses us in the daily life of a group of young people from a suburb, notably in Sidi Moumène where a cultural center has been created. A committed rapper called Anas arrives to make sense of the lives of these young people. A life made of moral and material misery. He will try to instill in them new values through rap, hip-hop and dance taught by choreographer Khalid Benghrib. As a reminder, the latter with his troupe participated in the Algiers contemporary dance festival in 2017 and was a great success. This very beautiful film gave young people hope to change their lives. The latter is often the bearer of anger, rage and contestation. A universal message that Nabil Ayouch was able to transmit without violence, but with force and realism through his film. We found a comparison with the Algerian director Nadir Moknèche, who, in his films, deals with the universal reality of our world. Her film “Lola Pater”, whose main role is played by Fanny Ardant, received on Saturday August 28, the Coup de Coeur prize from the France-Algeria Association awarded to the director. We can bet that Algerian cinema, which has a recognized place in world cinema, will continue to create and produce.
Production manager / Angoulême festival
–
