Les Mains Libres

In 1964, Algeria, just two years after the end of the war of independence, found itself catapulted into new contradictions, a still rural territory which responded to the modernity brought by the revolution. Filmed during the winter of 1964-1965 by the young director Ennio Lorenzini, it is the first international Algerian production which paints a rare portrait in color of a multifaceted nation, far from the simplistic vision created by the press and the French army. Produced by Casbah Film, Les Mains Libres (initially titled Tronc De Figuier) bears witness to the stigmata of colonization and the future of free Algeria throughout the Algerian territory and reveals the richness of its landscapes and the diversity of its traditions . The documentary, using the aesthetics of militant cinema of the time, is made up of four scenes: Sea and Desert, The Struggle, The Earth, Freedom.

Chirurgien dans la guerre d'Algérie

Has everything really been said about the Algerian war? Although the archives are opening up, almost fifty years after the signing of the Evian Agreements (March 18, 1962), direct witnesses are beginning to disappear. They are, however, unique bearers of history, often the only ones able to illustrate the harsh reality of a long-hidden period. Gérard Zwang, surgeon of the contingent between May 1956 and June 1958, is one of these essential witnesses who help us discover an original history of the Algerian War. During his service, in charge of treating the most atrocious wounds of his fellow soldiers, he sees the war from the side of its victims. He did not fight with a machine pistol in his hand, but behind the closed doors of an operating room where life gives way to death in a matter of seconds.

Cheb Hasni, Je vis encore !

Director Djamel Kelfaoui pays tribute to the great singer Cheb Hasni, king of sentimental raï, who became cult in Algeria and beyond its borders, and who was murdered in the street in September 1994 in Oran, at the age of 26. Unique and last interview filmed a few months before the assassination of the singer considered the king of “raï love” or “sentimental song”. Cheb Hasni had recorded more than 150 cassettes during his career. His memory remains very alive in the Maghreb and Arab world and its diaspora throughout the world. A transgenerational icon, he will be posthumously decorated with the National Merit medal at the rank of Achir.

Nuit et Brouillard

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

Tickled

Journalist David Farrier stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition online. As he delves deeper he comes up against fierce resistance, but that doesn’t stop him getting to the bottom of a story stranger than fiction.

Algérie, Mémoires du Raï

In the 1980s, Algeria experienced a tumultuous social context which reached its peak during the riots of October 88. This wave of protest, with youth as its figurehead, echoed the texts of raï singers. Thirst for freedom, misery of life and the aspirations of youth are among the main themes of their works which will inspire an entire generation. More than music, raï celebrates the Arabic language and becomes a vector of Algerian culture, thus providing the cultural weapons of emerging Algerian nationalism With Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami and Chaba Fadela as leaders of the movement, raï is also a way of telling and reflecting the essence of Algeria in these difficult times. While the threat weighs on artists in Algeria, their exile allows raï to be exported internationally and thus, to bring the colors of Algeria to life throughout the world.

La Blessure, la tragédie des harkis

It's the unforgivable story of the two hundred thousands harkis, the Arabs who fought alongside the French in the bitter Algerian war, from 1954 to 1962. Why did they make that choice? Why were they slaughtered after Algeria's independence? Why were they abandonned by the French government? Some fifty to sixty thousands were saved and transferred in France, often at pitiful conditions. This is for the first time, the story of this tragedy, told in the brilliant style of the authors of "Apocalypse".

Under the Hood: A Voyage Into the World of Torture

Victims of illegal torture authorized by democratic countries are interviewed. The victims discuss how they were tortured and the effects that torture has had on their lives both during and after their ordeal.

Les Anneaux d'Or

At the time of Tunisian independence, owners of large boats decide to sell, while many small fishermen soon find themselves without work. Their wives then decide to pool their gold rings to sell them and thus buy boats.

Elles

Documentary dialogue with young women in Algiers on their experience of independence shortly after their country's independence.

De Gaulle, le dernier roi de France

Charles de Gaulle, the first president (1958-1969) of the Vth Republic, France’s current system of government, left his mark on the country . He was statesman of action and has been compared to a monarch. This film depicts the general’s personality through the great events of his presidential term, at a time when the world was undergoing considerable changes.

Standard Operating Procedure

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

De Gaulle, le monarque et le Parlement

Algérie, Sections Armes Spéciales

This documentary by director Claire Billet and historian Christophe Lafaye details the massive and systematic use of chemical weapons during the Algerian War. Algerian fighters and civilians, sheltering in caves, were gassed by "special weapons sections" of the French army. The gas identified on military documents is CN2D, whose widespread use forced insurgents to flee "treated" sites, at the risk of dying there. The method is reminiscent of the "enfumades" used by the French expeditionary force during the conquest of Algeria in the 19th century. Between 8,000 and 10,000 such operations are believed to have taken place on Algerian soil between 1956 and 1962. This historical aspect is little known due to the difficulty of accessing archives, many of which are still classified, raising questions about memory, historical truth, and justice.

Réfugiés Algériens

Directed by Pierre Clément and Djamel-Eddine Chanderli, produced by the FLN Information Service in 1958, this film is a rare document. Pierre Clément is considered one of the founders of Algerian cinema. In this film he shows images of Algerian refugee camps in Tunisia and their living conditions. A restored DVD version released in 2016, from the 35 mm original donated by Pierre Clément to the Contemporary International Documentation Library (BDIC).

The Look of Silence

An optician grapples with the Indonesian mass killings of 1965-1966, during which his older brother was exterminated.

Doctors of the Dark Side

Doctors of the Dark Side is the first feature length documentary about the pivotal role of physicians and psychologists in detainee torture. The stories of four detainees and the doctors involved in their abuse demonstrate how US Army and CIA doctors implemented the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and covered up signs of torture at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Interviews with medical, legal and intelligence experts and evidence from declassified government memos document what has been called the greatest scandal in American medical ethics. Based on four years of research by Producer/Director Martha Davis, written by Oscar winning Mark Jonathan Harris, and filmed in HD by Emmy winning DP Lisa Rinzler, the film shows how the torture of detainees could not continue without the assistance of the doctors.

Om våld

Based on powerful archival material documenting the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation in the Third World, this documentary is accompanied by classic text from The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon.

Algérie, Les Deux Soldats

"Algeria, The Two Soldiers" tells the true story of two young French soldiers during the Algerian War, who were driven in two completely opposite directions by the same keen sense of honor: Noël Favrelière deserted to free a young Algerian Muslim prisoner who was going to be executed, and René Técourt, to continue the fight for French Algeria alongside the OAS ultras. Two emblematic examples, which describe in a direct, carnal way, what happened there.

Qu'Ils Partent Tous !

February 22, 2019 marks the start of a historic movement in Algeria, initially against the candidacy of President Bouteflika for a fifth term, then for the departure of all former dignitaries of the regime and the establishment of a Second Republic. Algerian-Canadian filmmaker Sara Nacer returns to Algeria to capture this “Hirak” (movement in Arabic) through her camera. Through her journey, she invites us to discover the young generation who are leading the "Smile Revolution" and building Algeria 2.0, with a strong political, cultural and social awareness.