The opening ceremony of the 22nd Algiers International Film Festival was elevated by an event rich in history and emotion: the cine-concert screening of Les plongeurs du désert, directed in 1952 by Tahar Hannache. A rare work and a precious witness to an era, offering an Algerian perspective on human and Saharan adventure, the film is reborn today in all its splendor thanks to the meticulous restoration carried out by Nabil Djedouani. The TNA and its audience had the privilege of rediscovering this exceptional film—an invaluable cinematic document—accompanied live by the original score performed by a philharmonic orchestra.
On screen, the restored images return to the landscapes, faces, and gestures of the « desert divers » their original power and poetry. But it is in the theater that the magic truly unfolds. For this film is not merely projected—it is performed, breathed, relived. An orchestra, positioned before the stage, accompanies the screening by playing the original score composed by Mohamed Iguerbouchen, a major figure of 20th-century Algerian music. This film is a true gem of Algerian cinema, as it stands as the first film made entirely by Algerians.
Under the inspired baton of maestro Khalil Baba Ahmed, the music regains its vitality. The audience witnesses a rare dialogue between image and sound, where each crescendo follows the breath of wind across the sand, and each musical motif revives the dramatic intensity of the scenes. The subtle yet energetic direction of Khalil Baba Ahmed reveals the modernity and melodic richness of Iguerbouchen’s composition, proving that this soundtrack has lost none of its emotional power. At the end of this extraordinary cine-concert, maestro Khalil Baba Ahmed announced the publication of Iguerbouchen’s score in a beautifully crafted edition to preserve this musical and cinematic heritage. He presented copies to the Minister of Culture, to the applause of the audience.
This festival opening is not only a tribute to national cinematic heritage; it is a celebration of Algerian artistic memory—its capacity to revive, to shine again through the hands of those who carry it with passion. Les plongeurs du désert thus becomes a bridge between generations: between those who witnessed its release and those who are discovering it today with wonder.
By bringing this 1952 work back to life, the Algiers International Film Festival affirms its commitment to preserving and valuing the treasures of our film heritage, while offering the public a unique sensory experience. A suspended, vibrant moment, where the desert comes alive, where the strings tremble, and where cinema fulfills its mission once more—to move, to transmit, and to bring us together in the same room, for the span of a breath.
