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Les Baies d'Alger (2006)

Les Baies d'Alger (2006)

Documentary
Release Date: 2006, March 11
Directors: Hassen Ferhani
Countries: Algeria
Production: Bledi In Progress
Cast: Rafik Bekhaled, Madame Belazoug, Sofia Bentaïd, Collectif Chrysalide, Dounia Ferhani, Samir Messaoudi

Overview:

In an extended panoramic view—an "audioscopy" of Algiers—the camera’s eye scrutinizes various buildings and city-center neighborhoods with an intimate approach. "I want to show Algerian society’s openness to the world and to modern means... as well as its contradictions regarding tradition." One might think that filming is merely about capturing images; yet for Hassen Ferhani, filming is first and foremost about welcoming presences—allowing the world to emerge with all its density, fragility, and silences. He does not frame to confine, but to liberate; he frames to offer a space where people, gestures, and voices can find their true rhythm. This kind of cinema dictates nothing: it stands back—attentive and open—allowing itself to be surprised by the most unpredictable aspects of reality, and it is in this act of letting go that beauty is born.

Keywords:

poetry experimental film city portrait algeria djazair algiers, algeria