Before Seriana

Country: Algeria, Canada
Director: Samy Benammar
Length: 19 mins
Synopsis: Unveiling the Aurès region of Algeria, this film contrasts rugged mountains with a realm imagined from colonial narratives. “Mom, you brought me back to our homeland. All I know about these harsh landscapes I learned from books written by the hand that burned these mountains. I try to undo the colonial myths engraved into my memory, but the hills escape my gaze. Do you think I, too, have become the white djinn spoken of by the legends surrounding our martyrs?”