El Ghoula
★ 10 · 1972 · Drama · Comedy
An adaptation of the satirical play of the same name by comedian Rouïched (Ahmed Ayad). "El-Ghoula" (The Vampire) tells the story of a corrupt official who lives off the peasants of an agricultural cooperative. Instead of solving problems, this official manipulates empty rhetoric and "revolutionary" slogans to galvanize them and encourage them to continue working. Opportunistic, he will transform the fellahs' work into chaotic bureaucratic procedures for his own personal gain.
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Cabascabo
★ 5.1
Cabascabo, a veteran of the French colonial army in Indochina, returns to his home town in Niger, acclaimed by friends and relatives. In fragmented flash-backs, he tells the story of his adventure and the battles in that distant land.
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An Elephant's Journey
2018 · ★ 4.9
A lost orphan boy and a giant elephant team up to take down an elephant poaching syndicate.
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From Hollywood to Tamanrasset
1990 · ★ 7.8
On the outskirts of Algiers, Algeria. the arrival of the satellite dishes governs the lives of the inhabitants. Dissatisfied with their lives, they think of themselves as the heroes of American soap opera and movies, so JR, Sue Ellen, Rambo, Kojak, Spock and others take possession of bodies and minds, with many typical American culture elements. These heroes mix in a beautiful funny mess, with tradition and modernism, Islam and television, reality and fiction.
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This Magnificent Cake!
2018 · ★ 6.6
In 1885, Africa is a succulent cake destined to be wildly divided and everyone wants a piece. A disturbed European king, a Pygmy working in a luxury hotel, a successful but lonely businessman, an enslaved porter, a young army deserter, a ghostly clarinetist. Some benefit from colonialism and greed. Others suffer racism and violence.
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BeBe Zahara Benet: Africa Is Not a Country
2023 · ★ 2
BeBe Zahara Benet recounts immigrating from West Africa to America through a series of hysterical sketches, unexpected audience interactions and razor sharp social commentary.
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Le Passager du Tassili
1987
Omar, a young Franco-Algerian from La Garenne-Colombes, decided to spend his vacation in the country of his ancestors, Algeria. On his return, he boards the ferry “Le Tassili” and during the crossing, he meets people who share his doubles, in a good mood that does not hide their heartbreaks.
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Das verrückte Strandhotel
1983 · ★ 4
Various German tourists arrive at the African vacation hotel "Leisure Lodge". Businessman Harry Weber wants to seduce his secretary Julia undisturbed, but unbeknownst to him, his wife Melanie has also arrived to seduce skier Toni. Weber's business partner, the industrialist Pfefferkorn, also turns up, and Weber's secretary is trying to woo his son Florian. Harry is given the call girl Christine by a friend, but Pfefferkorn is also after her. Hairdresser Agathe is the first to recognize the connections and uses her knowledge for business purposes. Finally, Toni's fiancée Resi arrives and adds to the confusion.
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Hiziya
1977 · ★ 10
It was from the popular song-poem by Mohamed Ben Guittoun that director Mohamed Hazourli (of the Constantine regional station of RTA) wrote the screenplay. Hiziya Bent Ahmeb Bey, 23 years old, lived in southeastern Algeria, in a village called Sidi Khaled. The daughter of a powerful notable of the Dhouaouda tribe, who regularly migrated through the desert, Hiziya was exceptionally beautiful, to the point that other girls were jealous and envious of her, and men succumbed to her charm. But the young woman's heart belonged to Saïd, an orphan taken in as a child by his uncle. They met in secret and married despite family hostility. A month after their wedding, Hiziya died during the transhumance in the desert. The death of his beloved plunged Saïd into deep grief, to the point that he abandoned his possessions and family to wander the desert.
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The Desert Ark
1998 · ★ 6.9
The Desert Ark (L'Arche du Desert), a variation on Romeo and Juliet set in the Algerian desert. A young couple must face inevitable conflict when their rival families discover their secret love. Taking refuge in a cave, they listen to the sounds of a senseless campaign of violence and murder, which is the culmination of the extremism that has long divided their two communities. Nominated for the Golden Leopard at the 1997 Locarno Film Festival.
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The Black Decameron
1972 · ★ 4
Five unrelated tales: (1) "The Ravishing Queen" / "La Reina Bella", in which the queen choses a king by devious endurance tests of the pretendants; (2) "The Punished Lovers", in which a fake blind husband is 'cured' after having the culprits banished from the tribe; (3) "The Old Prostitute" who manages to take revenge from all the village dignitaries who wrongfully condemned her brother; (4) "The Endless Search" that does not end until a hunter finds his perfect end-game; (5) "The Crazy Woman" whose illness was not exactly of the mind, but of an (almost) insatiable lust.
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In a Better World
2010 · ★ 7.2
The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
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The Lion
2003 · ★ 6.1
In Africa in the fifties, during the Mau-Mau war, young Patricia's friendship with a lion she raised for years.
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