Cinema of Algeria - The Emergence of Algerian Cinema in The 1960s and 1970s

The Emergence of Algerian Cinema in The 1960s and 1970s

Algeria became an independent nation in 1962, a topic which garnered heavy attention amongst Algerian movie productions of the 1960s and 1970s.

Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina's canonical 1967 film The Winds of the Aures depicts a rural farming family whose lives are destroyed by colonialism and war. The plot depicts the tragic plight of a mother who leaves her home in the Aurès mountains of eastern Algeria to search desperately for her son, a nationalist who has followed in his father's footsteps but been captured by the French army. Symbolically, the film uses the family to represent the fate of the nation: impoverished, exploited, but struggling to be free. The film won an award at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival for Best First Work.

Outside of Algeria, one of the most famous films of this era is The Battle of Algiers (1966), an Algerian-Italian film that obtained three Oscar nominations.

Other examples of Algerian cinema from this era include Patrol To The East (1972) by Amar Laskri, Prohibited Area (1972) by Ahmed Lallem, The Opium and the Stick (1970) by Ahmed Rachedi, Palme d'Or-winner Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975) by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, and Costa Gavras's Oscar-winning Z. A notable Frence-Algerian documentary about the aftermath of the war is the 1963 Peuple en marche.

Along with decolonization and the Algerian War, the plight of urban youth is another common theme. One example of this theme is Merzak Allouache's Omar Guetlato.

Several comedy stars also emerged, including the very popular Rouiched, star of Hassan Terro or Hassan Taxi. In addition, Hadj Abderrahmane - better known under the pseudonym of the Inspector Tahar - starred in the 1973 comedy The Holiday of The Inspector Tahar directed by Musa Haddad. The most famous comedy of this period is Carnaval fi dechra directed by Mohamed Oukassi, and starting Athman Ariouet.