The 21st Béjaïa Film Festival took place from September 26th to October 1st at the local cinematheque.
Thirty-two films from 15 countries, including Algeria, France, Tunisia, Egypt and Palestine, were shown during the event. In total, seven feature-length fiction films, six feature-length documentaries and nineteen short films were screened. Among them Hassen Ferhani’s documentary Alea Jacarandas, which opened the festival.
The fiction category included Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche’s new feature, Route Algérienne. It’s about an elderly long-haul truck driver, Slimane, now weary and in poor health, and his loader Smaïn, who are hired to take a cargo deep into the Algerian Sahara. However, mid-journey they are violently attacked and their truck stolen.
The Festival also held screenings across the region in villages affected by recent wildfires. The artistic director, Hakim Abdelfettah, hopes this initiative will “reach out to these areas and their inhabitants, to foster a moment of sharing and solidarity.”
Sources: El Watan, El Moudjahid
