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Panorama of Algerian Cinema
This selection traces Algerian cinema, connecting memory, struggles, and rebirth, blending classics with new voices. It reveals a dialogue between generations and affirms cinema as a language of freedom, dignity, and transmission, bringing audiences together around a living heritage oriented toward the future.
Open Doors on Palestine
This program, organized in collaboration with Film Lab Palestine and the Rashid Masharawi Foundation, brings together eight award-winning films that transform pain and struggle into cinematic language. They explore memory, identity, exile, and resistance, embodying a cinema of truth and hope, inviting audiences to deeply feel a shared humanity.
Tribute to Cuban cinema
This selection offers a fresh window into Cuban cinema, blending political fervor, aesthetic pursuit, and collective memory. The works reveal the story of a people through a critical eye, a humanistic spirit, and revolutionary hope. Whether acclaimed or debated, they remain landmarks of a Southern cinema inventing its own free grammar.
Zahira Yahi is among the people honored at the opening ceremony.
She began her career at Algerian Radio (Channel III), where she stood out for programs addressing sensitive social issues, earning her a reputation as a free and committed woman.
She then served as chief of staff at the Ministry of Culture for over ten years, and her name remains closely associated with the organization of the Algiers International Film Festival (FICA).
There, she promoted an ambitious vision for national cinema and contributed to the emergence of a new generation of Algerian filmmakers.
Known for her intellectual independence and deep commitment to Algerian culture, she has left a strong and lasting mark on the media and the cinematic landscape.
Although her official duties ended in 2023, her name continues to symbolize perseverance and cultural leadership in Algeria.
The artist Salah Aougrout will be honored at the opening ceremony.
Known artistically and to the general public as “Souilah,” he is one of Algeria’s most prominent comedians. Born in 1961, he began his career in theater before making his mark on television and cinema, creating works that have become iconic, such as the films Carnaval fi Dachra and Mal Watani, as well as the series Djemaï Family, Sultan Achour El Acher, and Bouzeid Days.
He has distinguished himself with a unique comedic style, combining facial expressiveness with physical gestures, which has earned him immense popularity and made him a true icon of comedy and Algerian art in general.
Tewfik Fares is on the list of personalities honored at the opening ceremony.
Born in 1937 in Bordj-Bou-Arréridj, Tewfik Farès studied at the Sorbonne before becoming, upon his return to Algeria, one of the pioneers of filmed news in North Africa. Between 1963 and 1965, he directed over 200 episodes of Actualités algériennes and about fifty documentaries. From 1965 onwards, he became involved in the emergence of engaged Algerian cinema, co-writing short films and collaborating on the screenplays of Le Vent des Aurès and Chronique des années de braise.
In 1969, he directed Les Hors-la-loi, his only feature film as a director, considered one of the major works of Algerian cinema. Settling in Paris in the early 1970s, he worked for the French press and television, producing programs such as Mosaïque and Les Nuits du Ramadan. Deeply attached to Algeria, he continued producing films there and also devoted himself to poetry, publishing Le Dernier chant and Empreintes du silence.
The late Biyouna will be honored at the opening ceremony.
An iconic figure of the Algerian scene, Biyouna, whose real name is Baya Bouzar, was born on September 13, 1952, in Algiers. She rose to prominence in 1973 with La Grande Maison by Mustapha Badie and quickly established her unique style, effortlessly navigating humor, cinema, theater, and one-woman shows.
A bold actress, she left her mark on the big screen in Leila et les Autres, Délice Paloma, Viva L’Algérie, and several films by Nadir Moknèche, who gave her memorable roles. She has also collaborated with Fellag and Jérôme Savary.
A versatile artist, Biyouna has explored music through two albums and numerous stage projects. Loved by the public, she achieved immense television success with Nass Mlah City and Nsibti Laaziza.
Between Algiers and France, where she continues her theatrical and musical ventures, Biyouna remains a singular and flamboyant presence.
Lizette Vila will be honored at the opening ceremony.
orn in the working-class neighborhood of El Cerro in Havana, she is a Cuban documentary filmmaker and music consultant committed to peace and diversity. With an audiovisual career recognized with over 50 awards, she creates documentaries focused on marginalization, discrimination, and human suffering. For more than ten years, she has dedicated her work to Proyecto Palomas, a socio-cultural organization she founded to promote a culture of peace and respect for diversity. Her initiative organizes citizen meetings that foster dialogue and social change. Thanks to her artistic and humanistic sensibility, she puts her talent at the service of the most vulnerable audiences: sick children, people with disabilities, women in fragile situations, people living with HIV, and the elderly.