Zineb Sedira Transforms Tate Britain's Duveen Galleries into a Cinema of Resistance

Zineb Sedira's engaging installation, titled 'When Words Fall Silent, Cinema Speaks,' is set to debut at Tate Britain's Duveen Galleries, with the exhibition running from 13 May 2026 to 17 January 2027. This work is inspired by the radical cinema culture of post-independence Algeria, particularly the Third Cinema movement from the 1960s, which opposed imperialism. Born in Paris in 1963 to Algerian parents and currently residing in London, Sedira represented France at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. The installation includes a recreated cinema showcasing her new film in four acts, a 1960s Parisian café replica, a customized Scopitone featuring Agnès Varda's 'Salut les Cubains,' and a vintage French van transformed into a mobile Ciné Pop unit that projects an interview with film historian Ahmed Bedjaoui. This van’s journey—from its initial use by the French army for propaganda to its later repurposing by Algeria for anti-colonial cinema—highlights Sedira's commentary on the political significance of images. The project combines architecture, film, sound, objects, and ambiance to investigate cinema's role in shaping political imagination and collective memory.