Petite Casbah: Animated Film on Algeria's Pre-Independence Era Opens October 14

Set in Algiers in June 1955, Petite Casbah follows Khadidja, who leaves Kabylie to join her older brother Malek in the capital. After an altercation at the market, Malek is arrested by police, leaving Khadidja alone. Lyes, Ahmed and Philippe then mobilize to help her find him, with the four children conducting their investigation from the rooftops of the Casbah. Through the adventures of four young friends from different communities in Algiers, the film portrays Algeria on the eve of the War of Independence from a child's perspective. The film is positioned within an essential collective memory project and presented as a unique opportunity to open intergenerational dialogue. In 1955, Algeria had belonged to France for more than 100 years, and Algiers was a French department. The story unfolds at the outset of the conflict; tensions were palpable, but the violence of war had not yet reached the city. Petite Casbah does not aim to chronicle a war but to show how children from different social backgrounds and opposing camps can overcome the hatred and prejudices of adults. Its message extends beyond Algeria's borders, with many elements making the story universal: beyond relations between settlers and colonized people, it follows a group of children who come together and rise against injustice. The film opens in theaters on October 14 and is a partner film of the Club Artistik Rezo. The announcement was sourced from a press release.