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From Dec 5 to 12, 2026

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YOUTH JURY – CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

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As part of its upcoming edition, the Algiers International Film Festival (AIFF) is launching a call for applications to form its Youth Jury.

Designed for young Algerian film enthusiasts, this initiative offers participants the opportunity to experience a film festival from the inside, develop their critical perspective on films, and take part in discussions and exchanges around contemporary cinema.

The Youth Jury

The Youth Jury will consist of 13 members, aged between 18 and 28.

Jury members will be responsible for viewing films from the Official Selection across the festival’s three competitions: Feature Films, Short Films and Discovery.

Following the screenings, the Youth Jury will meet to exchange views, discuss the films and deliberate independently in order to award the Youth Jury Grand Prize, which will be presented during the official closing and awards ceremony.

The Youth Jury is not limited to screenings and deliberations. Its members will also produce editorial and media content, designed to document and highlight their festival experience and further develop their approach to film criticism.

Responsibilities of Youth Jury Members

Selected members will be expected to:

  • View the films selected for the Youth Jury competition.
  • Take part in discussions and exchanges with the other jury members.
  • Share their perspectives and develop a collective reflection on the films presented.
  • Deliberate independently and award the Youth Jury Grand Prize.
  • Award a Special Mention, where applicable.
  • Meet filmmakers, artists and industry professionals invited to the festival.
  • Contribute to the production of critical and journalistic content, including film. reviews, filmed interviews, podcasts and other editorial formats to be published on the festival’s official platforms.

An Experience at the Heart of the Festival

Joining the AIFF Youth Jury means taking an active part in the life of the festival and discovering, beyond the screenings, the various dimensions of film creation and distribution.

Jury members will be encouraged to develop their perspective on the films, articulate and defend their choices, and engage in discussions with professionals and artists from Algeria and abroad.

Films Eligible for the Youth Jury

The Youth Jury will award the Youth Jury Grand Prize and may, where applicable, award a Special Mention.

Eligible films are debut films by filmmakers selected for the festival’s three competitions: Feature Films, Short Films and Discovery.

Eligibility Requirements

The call for applications is open to candidates who meet the following requirements:

  • Be between 18 and 28 years old at the time of the festival.
  • Be available for the entire duration of the festival to attend screenings, meetings, discussions and deliberations.
  • Demonstrate curiosity, open-mindedness and a genuine interest in cinema.
  • Be able to work as part of a team and engage with differing viewpoints in a spirit of dialogue.
  • No previous experience in film criticism is required.

Application Requirements

Applications must include:

  • A motivation letter, explaining the applicant’s interest in cinema, their reasons for wishing to join the Youth Jury, and their interest in the festival experience and collective work.
  • An up-to-date CV, highlighting, where applicable, cultural, community, academic or educational experiences related to cinema and audiovisual media.
  • A film review, focusing on either a recent film or a film from the cinematic heritage. This exercise should demonstrate the applicant’s analytical abilities, personal perspective and critical thinking. The review should be between 1,500 and 2,000 characters.

Application Timeline

Application deadline: October 30, 2026

Applications should be submitted to: applications@ficinema.dz  

Selected candidates will be notified individually following the selection process.

 

Download the press release
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AIFF 2026: Film Call Extended to September 15

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Algiers, August 14, 2026 — Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the Algiers International Film Festival announces the extension of the deadline for film submissions for its 13th edition, to be held from December 5 to 12, 2026, in Algiers.

In order to give more filmmakers, the opportunity to finalize their submissions, the deadline for film entries has now been extended to September 15, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Algiers time.

A New “Discovery” Section

The festival is expanding its programme the « Discovery » new section, dedicated to new talents and singular storytelling (fiction, documentary, animation, experimental, etc.). Furthermore, documentary films are now integrated into the Feature and Short Film sections according to their duration, bringing together all genres.

Free Submissions

Film submissions remain completely free of charge and can be made through FilmFreeway or the Festival’s official website.

The eligibility criteria, particularly those concerning film duration and production dates, as well as the technical submission requirements, remain unchanged. Filmmakers, industry professionals and rights holders are invited to consult the full regulations, which have now been updated on the festival’s official website.

Through this new edition, the festival reaffirms its ambition to present a programme open to collective memories, evolving identities and contemporary struggles, and looks forward to discovering the works that will shape its 13th edition.

For further information:

• Press & Media: medias@ficinema.dz
• Film Submission: submissions@ficinema.dz
• Official Website: www.ficinema.dz

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Nadia Meflah: A Career Devoted to World Cinema and Audience Engagement

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Nadia Meflah’s career is rooted in an early passion for critical analysis, film education, and cinematic mediation. A film critic since the late 1990s and an active member of the French Film Critics Syndicate as well as the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), she honed her aesthetic rigor early on by joining the selection committee of the prestigious Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival, from 2003 to 2005.

Her expertise spans the entire film industry value chain — from programming to distribution and production — through collaborations with various international companies. This global grounding comes hand in hand with a sustained commitment to championing cinema from the Global South, with particular attention to Africa and the Middle East.

Her connection to contemporary Algerian filmmaking is both deep and ongoing: she has worked to develop new talent through the Bejaia Lab and, in the past, supported the growth of our institution as a programming advisor. Her expertise has also led her to sit on the « Aide aux Cinémas du Monde » committee (CNC / Institut Français), where she championed major works such as La Dernière Reine and Roqia.

A recognized educator and respected teacher at renowned universities such as Columbia University (New York) and Grinnell College, Nadia Meflah stands out for her inclusive approach to cinema. Throughout her career, she has made a point of reaching all audiences — from international festival-goers to communities furthest removed from traditional film circuits — engaging in particular with people with disabilities, incarcerated populations, and residents of care and reception facilities.

An accomplished author as well, she has published the book Chaplin et les femmes (published by Philippe Rey) and written the documentary film Oum Kalthoum, la voix du Caire (Arte). It is the richness of this hybrid career — moving fluidly between creative work, criticism, production, programming, distribution, teaching, and grassroots engagement — that defines the scope and remarkable potential she now brings to the artistic direction of the Algiers International Film Festival.

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Algiers: Land of Cinema, Freedom, and Solidarity

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Artistic Director Editorial

Nadia Meflah

When I was asked to choose a photograph to introduce myself as the new Artistic Director of the Algiers International Film Festival, I hesitated for some time. I was convinced that the image we have of ourselves is, above all, shaped by our relationship with others — and therefore with the world — where perception is also a matter of ethics and commitment.

Then I had a moment of clarity: I went back to an self-portrait I had taken in Palestine, when I was invited to the Ramallah International Film Festival in October 2019.

Today, as a film professional, I feel an even greater responsibility to stand in support of our brothers and sisters in Palestine, as well as all those who struggle to preserve a history, a people and a memory.

This is the commitment I wish to place at the heart of the Algiers Festival: to make it a space that supports cinematic creation from every country in the world committed to universal humanism, to the defence of creative freedom, memory and dialogue among peoples.

To me, this ambition fully embraces a public-service mission: to offer Algerian citizens a cinema that is open to the world, attentive to the struggles of our time, and to make the Festival a place for encounters, transmission and solidarity.

The excellence of Algerian cinema is rooted in a fierce determination to break free from every imposed identity and every assigned place, and it has been so since its very beginnings. Algerian films, past and present, share a common quality: they offer the world an aesthetic power inseparable from a genuine beauty of insurrection.

How can we tell the story of a human condition when the struggle for survival itself becomes its first condition? How can we portray a social, political, economic and cultural life subjected to a colonial system that claims legitimacy in the name of a so-called civilising mission? What can storytelling achieve when a war of occupation continues to endure and intensify?

No one can evade these questions today. They run through many recent films with tragic force — Palestinian films, of course, but not only Palestinian films.

Filmmakers who commit themselves as awakeners of conscience are at home in Algiers. More than ever, we must strengthen our ties with those who are committed to dismantling the legacies of colonialism and the toxic, destructive narratives that perpetuate their effects. We must support those who reclaim their stories, give voice to the plurality of their histories, cultures and identities.

It is this legacy that we now have a responsibility to carry forward and take further: to make Algiers a major centre of world cinema, a place where artists from every horizon, driven by freedom, justice and solidarity, can come together.

A cinema that does not turn away from the world, but chooses to look it in the face, to question it and, perhaps, to help transform it.

Photo Nadia Meflah : Autoportrait – Ramallah, Palestine 2019

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Algeria pays tribute to activist Elaine Mokhtefi

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It is with deep emotion and immense pride that the Algiers International Film Festival (AIFF) welcomes the granting of Algerian nationality to the great anti-colonial activist Elaine Mokhtefi. A key figure of the Revolution and the cultural history of the capital, she was the guest of honor at our 12th edition. Discover our official press release and the festival team’s tribute to this exceptional woman.

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PRESS RELEASE Call for Films Now Open 13th Algiers International Film Festival

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Algiers, July 18, 2026: Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the Algiers International Film Festival announces the opening of film submissions for its 13th edition, which will take place

From 5 to 12 December 2026 at Algiers, Algeria

The deadline for submissions is set for September 1, 2026 (11:59 PM Algiers time).

Registration is free and must be done via the « Film Freeway » platform at [Algiers International Film Festival – FilmFreeway] and the festival’s official website www.ficinema.dz.

We welcome fiction, documentary, animated, and experimental films (both short and feature-length) to build a program that highlights collective memory, evolving identities, and contemporary concerns.

The 13th edition’s programming is divided into the following sections:

  • In Competition: Feature and short fiction and documentary films.
  • Out of Competition: An international panorama, including knowledge and science films.
  • Algeria and Africa Focus: Films from Africa or related to Algeria.
  • Palestine Focus: A special selection dedicated to Palestinian cinema.
  • Cinema Lab: Workshops, meetings, and creative residencies.

 

Selected films in each section will compete for the following awards: Grand Prize, Jury Prize, Audience Award, and Technical Prize.

The complete General Participation Rules are available on the festival’s official website www.ficinema.dz  and are attached to this press release.

For further information:

Press inquiries: medias@ficinema.dz  

Submission inquiries: submissions@ficinema.dz

General Information: contact@ficinema.dz

ciné-concert

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A cine-concert will accompany the screening of The Desert Divers by Tahar Hannache, with maestro Khalil Baba Ahmed conducting Mohamed Iguerbouchene’s score live. This unique performance creates a renewed dialogue between sound and image, offering an immersive artistic experience that brings fresh emotional depth to this landmark Algerian film.

Tahar Hannache

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Tahar Hannache, one of Algerian cinema’s forgotten pioneers, discovered film early before moving to France, where he learned every aspect of the craft and appeared in around sixty productions alongside major filmmakers. In 1938, he founded Taha Films, then returned to Algeria to shoot the first aerial images of Constantine. In 1952, he directed The Desert Divers, the earliest surviving Algerian fiction film, later censored by colonial authorities. Revived through his daughter’s efforts, his legacy stands as a cornerstone of Algerian cinematic history.

Walid Aidoud

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Walid Aidoud
Walid Aidoud is a visual artist, exhibition curator
and scenographer. He is the co-founder and director
of Box24 Algeria since 2008 and a member of the scientific committee of the Museum of Modern Art of Algiers since 2023. He has curated major national and international exhibitions, including Artifariti in Western Sahara, as well as independent shows in Sweden, Germany and Spain. His practice blends visual creation, curatorial vision and scenographic research.

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