History on Film: The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Please join us for a film screening of the The Battle of Algiers, taking place on Monday 11^th March in the FAB cinema, preceded by a talk from Dr Luca Peretti (SMLC).

An Italian-Algerian film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, The Battle of AlgiersLink opens in a new window documents the Algerian struggle for national liberation, focusing on events of 1956-57. The film itself was shot using a 16-mm camera in a documentary-style, offering powerful insight into the guerrilla struggle against French colonialism. Voted one of the BFI’s Greatest Films of All Time, The Battle of Algiers has continued to be a controversial and thought-proving film, not shown in France until 1971.

Prior to the screening, we will be joined by Dr Luca PerettiLink opens in a new window in FAB2.25 to hear more about the history of the film and Dr Peretti’s own work on Italian anti-colonial cinema. Dr Peretti is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow working on anti-colonialism and Italian media, and he is currently completing a book project entitled Beyond The Battle of Algiers. Fiction, non-fiction, and militant cinema between Algeria and Italy in the 1960s.

18.15 FAB 2.25 – Pre-screening talk from Dr Luca Peretti

19.00 FAB Cinema – Screening of The Battle of Algiers (1966), 135 minutes.

Open to students, staff, and researchers from across the Faculty of Arts.

For any questions or queries, please get in touch with Dr Liz Egan (elizabeth.a.egan@warwick.ac.uk) or Lewis Twiby (lewis.twiby@warwick.ac.uk). If you have any suggestions for future film screening events, please do also get in touch!