Programmed in conjunction with Waiting for Omar Gatlato: Contemporary Art from Algeria and Its Diaspora, this film series presents diverse perspectives in Algerian cinema from the years following independence (1962) through today. Consisting of both historical and contemporary titles, it highlights the work of filmmakers and protagonists alike in their search to present post-revolutionary realities.
Omar Gatlato
Merzak Allouache, 1976, 90 min.
Followed-by
New York Premiere
Algerian Novel (Le Roman Algérien), Chapter One, 2016, 16min. 35 sec.
Algerian Novel (Le Roman Algérien) Chapter Two, 2017, 34min.
Katia Kameli
Omar Gatlato
The title of this watershed film refers to the expression "gatlato al-rujula," or, roughly, "machismo killed him..." With its mordant insights into male posturing and alienation in Algerian society, the film animates this bit of folk wisdom as it recounts in mock documentary style, a typical day in the life of a young man in the Bab el-Oued quarter of Algiers, while the Camera playfully shows a different story.
Algerian Novel, Chapter One
In Algiers Farouk Azzoug and his son run a kiosk on Larbi Ben M’Hidi street that sells an eclectic assortment of old postcards and reproductions of archival photographs capturing Algeria’s colonial and post-colonial history. Sifting through the images evokes memories from the inhabitants of Algiers, which are shared in the film and provide a uniquely personal account of the country’s history.
Algerian Novel, Chapter Two
When we read the images of the archive, we reactivate the meanings of history, often in new/novel ways. In the second chapter of The Algerian Novel, the filmmaker invites philosopher Marie José Mondzain to “read” the previous chapter of the film. When faced with the photographic image, does the truth of our gestures ultimately speak more clearly than the photographic archive we think we know so well?
