Presented as part of You Say You Want a Revolution?
"If any movie squeezes you into the shoes of grassroots combatants fighting a monstrous colonialist power for the right to their own neighborhoods, this is it."—Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
Featuring a conversation with Meriam Belli and Zach Vanes after the 5/15 screening.
One of the most influential political films in history vividly recreates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot on the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Director Gillo Pontecorvo’s tour de force has astonishing relevance today.
