Nardjes A.

On his first trip to Algeria in the spring of 2019, filmmaker and Berlinale regular Karim Aïnouz experiences at first hand the protests against President Bouteflika’s fifth term of office. He quickly abandons his plan to make a film about his father’s home country and opts instead to document the ongoing, non-violent protests of the "Revolution of Smiles" in Algiers. Through friends, he meets the activist Nardjes, and accompanies her for 24 hours on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2019. He shows her chanting slogans at a large-scale rally with thousands of demonstrators and then, after sharing an evening meal, dancing at a club where everyone shakes off the tensions of the day. His camera is constantly at the heart of the action.

The young people in Aïnouz’s film are representative of a new, politically engaged generation worldwide; he portrays a youth that is confidently taking to the streets to protest against corruption and fight for the democratic future of their country – the same country for whose independence from France their parents and grandparents once fought.

Source: 70. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)