The 17th Amazigh Film Festival, for films in the Berber language (Amazigh), runs from February 28th to March 4th in Tizi Ouzou, the capital of the Algerian province of the same name. The dates were announced at a press conference on February 23rd by the festival director Amar Tribech. Created 20 years ago, the Amazigh event has encountered difficulties in recent years, mainly due to the scarcity of new films in the Berber language, and has been regularly postponed.
For this 17th edition, the film selection committee consisted of director Ali Berkenou, cinematographer Akli Metref and actor Salem Aït-Ali-Belkacem. Having viewed 36 films, they selected 23 for the four competitions: 4 fiction feature films, 6 documentaries, 10 short films and 3 animated films. They will be screened in different venues across the city, taken over for the occasion, including the Mouloud Mammeri Maison de Culture and the film library.
The festival is dedicated to the memory of Djamel Allam, musician, actor and director who died last year. His short film Banc public, winner of the Golden Olive for the Best Drama Film in 2013, opens the festival. A tribute will also be paid to the producer Youcef Goucem.
On the sidelines there will also be several seminars raising issues about filming in Algeria, with discussions steeped in the history of Amazigh cinema. There will also be a screenwriting workshop led by film-maker and director Malek Laggoune.
The festival director has said he would like to make this event the international festival of Amazigh cinema, which would give it greater status and visibility. He also hopes the festival will revitalize Algerian film production generally and encourage audiences back into the country’s too often neglected cinemas.
Sources: http://www.jeune-independant.net, http://www.lexpressiondz.com, https://www.liberte-algerie.com
