In the middle of the Algerian War, Youssef Chahine agreed to direct this political film about Djamila Bouhired, an iconic heroine of the movement for Algerian independence. Arrested by French paratroopers during General Bigeard’s Battle of Algiers, Djamila (or in Egyptian dialect, Gamila) was condemned to death and defended by Jacques Vergès, a famous French lawyer.
This movie was supported by President Nasser in solidarity with the Algerian Revolution. It was produced by Magda, a major star, who plays Djamila. It is also a polemical work, attacking French colonialism. With great artistic daring, Youssef Chahine chooses to represent Djamila as a new Joan of Arc. The film thus pays tribute not just to the movement for Algerian independence, but also to Carl Theodor Dreyer’s classic The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927). It was originally intended as a project for Azzedine Zulficar, a major Egyptian studio director, who persuaded Magda to hire Chahine, in the belief that the young filmmaker would be able to transmute such a commission into a work of cinema.
It is worth noting that this rare and precious production was banned for many years in France.

Tewfik Hakem