The Zerda and the Songs of Forgetting (1982) revisits the colonization of the Maghreb. Drawn from French newsreels from 1912–42, the film employs experimental montage to search for the truth and reveal the resistance across this thirty-year period. The soundtrack brings together multivocal chants and avant-garde music to form a furious swan song to colonial violence. Djebar creates a complex picture of Algeria's colonial history, focusing particularly on the role and representation of women during this period.

Screening with Katia Kameli’s Bledi a possible scenario (2004). Throughout the video, image, sound and language (spoken, sung or written – on street signs or in the subtitles) are combined, and re-combined, to reveal ‘Algeria’ as a site of competing discourses, a culture in the constant process of ‘becoming’ (Stuart Hall 1990). We are presented with fragments of individual yet intersecting micro- narratives – alternative, partial, local perspectives, which together counter the persistently reductive, totalising images of Algeria in certain Western media.

With a specially produced sound piece consisting of Algerian songs of resistance, voice notes and field recordings by Emma Bouraba and Bint Mbareh.

After the screenings, we will host a reading circle where participants are invited to read, share, and reflect on texts that respond to the themes of the programme and Assia Djebar’s writing more generally - including the Song, inverting the colonial gaze and oral histories. You are invited to bring any piece of writing to share in the reading circle including a poem, short text or essay except, but there is no pressure or expectation to do so.

Space is limited to please only book if you are certain to attend.

18.30 - Doors Open

19.00 - Bledi a Possible scenario

19.20 - The Zerda and the Songs of Forgetting

20.30 - Reading Circle + Discussion

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Selene’s Archive is a project investigating archival practice in film and artists’ moving image as it relates to histories that have been destroyed, mis-recorded or obscured. Through writing and programming, it aims to explore the ways in which filmmakers have engaged with visual archives in order to consider structures of power, historical narratives and cultural memory. It was founded by Maria Paradinas in 2023.

https://selenesarchive.com/

Other Cinemas is a project focused on the transformational power of film; whether that is showcasing the work of Black and non-white filmmakers; creating networks for Black and non-white creatives to work, learn and collaborate; or using film to document the stories of Black and non-white communities. Other Cinemas regularly hosts free film screenings in ways and spaces that serve our communities and also runs an informal film school collective of young Black and non-white filmmakers which seeks to create a real space for conversation and collaboration. Other Cinemas was set up by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah, two filmmakers who saw the need for better ways to make and share films.

https://twitter.com/othercinemas

https://www.facebook.com/0thercinemas

https://www.instagram.com/othercinemas

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Please note that a ticket does not guarantee entry. Due to the high percentage of non-attendance for free events in London, we release more tickets than our capacity. On the very rare occasions that we exceed capacity for an event, we have to enact a first come first serve policy, so please arrive on time!

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Supported by Metroland Cultures and Film Hub London.