The preview of feature film \u201cHeliopolis\u201d by Djaafar Gacem, based on historical facts, was presented Wednesday, in Algiers, to a large audience obliged to strictly respect the prevention measures against the spread of the Coronavirus.<\/p>\n
Produced by the Centre Alg\u00e9rien de D\u00e9veloppement du Cin\u00e9ma (CADC), with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the movie was presented at the Algiers Opera Boualem-Bessa\u00efh, in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Arts, Malika Bendouda and several of her colleagues, members of the government.<\/p>\n
Screened on the double occasion of the celebration of the Student\u2019s Day, which coincides with the 19th of May every year, and its release, scheduled for the 20th of this month, in all Algerian cinemas, \u201cHeliopolis\u201d goes back to the background of the demonstrations of the 8th of May 1945 after the end of the Second World War, recalling the exactions and massacres perpetrated by the colonial France against the Algerian civilian population.<\/p>\n
The 116-minute film, inspired by historical events in Algeria in the 1940s, depicts the differences of opinion in the society of yesteryear, through Mokdad Zenati, son of \u201cGa\u00efd\u201d, an assimilationist who was in favour of rapprochement with colonial France and owner of agricultural land in the village of H\u00e9liopolis in Guelma (eastern Algeria), and \u201cMahfoud\u201d, his son, with anti-colonial and independence ideas, advocated by the political current of the \u201cFriends of the Freedom Manifesto\u201d (AML) of Ferhat Abbas, which he joined, thus concluding the break with his father.<\/p>\n
Imprisoned for having participated in the organization of demonstrations, Mahfoud, played by Mehdi Ramdani, is executed with his comrades in front of the powerless and devastated gaze of his father, played by Aziz Boukrouni, who then decides to return to his property and take his rifle to defend himself against the French militia.<\/p>\n
The audience, having interacted with the film for a long time by applauding some of its scenes illustrating the patriotism of Algerians and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the independence of their country, thanked Dja\u00e2far Gacem and all his staff, who went on stage at the end of the screening, with a long standing ovation, \u201cyouyous\u201d and \u201cBravos\u201d which burst out from the hall.<\/p>\n
This first feature film by Djaffar Gacem features not only French actors who could not make the trip, but also a host of Algerian actors, including Aziz Boukrouni, Mehdi Ramdani, Souhila Maalem, Mourad Oudjit, Mohamed Frimehdi, Nasreddine Djoudi and Fodhil Assoul, who were mostly present at the Algiers Opera.<\/p>\n
According to the director, the film \u201chad been ready since March 2020\u201d, but its screening had been postponed several times by \u201cproducer\u201d the CADC, for \u201cobvious reasons\u201d relating to prevention of the spread of the Covid-19 virus.<\/p>\n
Several distinguished guests from the world of cinema and theatre also attended the screening of \u201cHeliopolis\u201d, including Sid Ahmed Agoumi, Madani Na\u00e2moun and Rabah Lechea.<\/p>\n
Within the same spirit of solidarity with Palestine and the battered people of Gaza expressed by Malika Bendouda through a scarf decorated with the Palestinian emblem that she wore, Souhila Mallem, declared in the name of all the artistic and technical staff who worked with Djaffar Gacem that the preview of \u201cHeliopolis\u201d, was \u201cdedicated to Palestine and the people of Gaza\u201d in particular.<\/p>\n
Also a scriptwriter, Djaffar Gacem became famous through the direction of several successful sitcoms and TV series, such as Nass Mlah City 1, 2 and 3 (from 2002 to 2006), \u201cliqae ma\u00e2 El Qadar\u201d (2007), \u201cDjemai Family 1, 2 and 3\u201d (from 2008 to 2011), \u201cQahwet Mimoun\u201d (2012), \u201cDar El Bahdja\u201d (2013), \u201cSoltane Achour El Acher 1, 2 and 3\u201d (from 2015 to 2018) and \u201cBouzid Days\u201d (2016).<\/p>\n
The feature-length fiction film \u201cHeliopolis\u201d has been nominated to represent Algeria at the Oscar for Best International Feature Film (non-English language film), organised by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The preview of feature film \u201cHeliopolis\u201d by Djaafar Gacem, based on historical facts, was presented Wednesday, in Algiers, to a large audience…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":18141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-historyheritage","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\n