More than fifty years after the release of the film “The Battle of Algiers” in theaters in June 1966, director Salim Aggar found, after a search which lasted more than a year and a half, the actors, extras and technicians who worked on the film directed by Gillo Pentecorvo and produced by Yacef Saadi. In this documentary full of anecdotes and stories about the filming of the film, the director found the actress who played the role of Hassiba Ben Bouali, the young 17-year-old actress who played Bouhamidi's bride but especially certain figures important parts of the film who were barely 10 years old at the time of filming and who no one will recognize today. Beyond the important historical aspect of the film, the documentary focused mainly on the social, cinematographic and cultural aspect of the film and its impact on a generation which had just regained independence.
Cheikh Djemaï looks back on the genesis of Gillo Pontecorvo’s feature film, The Battle of Algiers (1965). Through archive images, extracts from the film and interviews with personalities, the filmmaker retraces the journey of a major work - from the events of the Algiers Casbah (1956-1957) to the presentation of the Lion of 'Or causing the anger of the French delegation in Venice - which left its mark as much in the history of cinema as in that of Algeria.
Mohamed Ben Kassen is an Algerian actor. He plays the role of Little Omar in the cult film "The Battle of Algiers" by Gillo Pontecorvo (1966) with Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Rouiched... The action of the film "The Battle of Algiers" takes place in 1957, in Algeria, the people, supported by the FLN, revolt against the French occupier. On both sides, extreme methods are used: torture on the part of the French army and terrorism of Algerians revolting against the power in place. The war will spare no one. In the Casbah district of Algiers, a former delinquent, Ali La Pointe, refuses to stop the fighting, even when the situation seems desperate. For his part, Colonel Mathieu tries as best he can to carry out his mission, even if it means resorting to drastic means...