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.
Ahmed Ayad (April 28, 1921 - January 20, 1999), was an Algerian actor and comedian born in Algiers, to a father from Aït Djennad in the wilaya of Tizi Ouzou and a mother from Blida. He is the half-brother of singer Hadj Mrizek. During childhood, Rouiched did a thousand small jobs to survive. Self-taught, he obtained his first role in a play by Abdelhamid Ababsa entitled “Estardjâ Yâ Assi” (Come back to you O unconscious). His interpretation saves the piece from flopping. He then launched into the profession and became the leader of an artistic troupe. He rubbed shoulders with the big names of the time: Rachid Ksentini, Mustapha Badie, Nadjat Tounsi, Sid-Ali Fernandel, Mohamed Touri, Mustapha Kateb… His conception of art and theater earned him the grievances of Mahieddine Bachetarzi. After independence, he was part of the Algerian National Theater troupe, but won recognition on television and in cinema in the film "Hassen Terro" by Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina. Rouiched, who became a very great figure in Algerian comedy theater and cinema, continued his career on Algerian Television where he played in numerous sketches and television films until his death in 1999.