Le Roman Algérien

The Algerian Novel – Chapter 1
Katia Kameli, France/Algeria 2016, 16 min. French, Algerian Arabic with English subtitles, HD Video

The Algerian Novel – Chapter 2
Katia Kameli, France/Algeria 2017, 34min. French, Algerian Arabic with English subtitles, HD video

The Algerian Novel – Chapter 3
Katia Kameli, France/Algeria 2019, 45 min. French, Algerian Arabic with English subtitles, HD video

The Algerian Novel sheds light on the complex relationship of a nation to its history and the role of images in the construction of its national imaginary and archetypes. The first chapter immerses the viewer in Algerian history and memory through a collection of images from a kiosk in Algiers. The second chapter takes the form of a metacritique in which philosopher Marie-José Mondzain offers us a re-reading of the first film. In the third chapter, past and present history collide: Marie-José Mondzain, who was born in Algeria, strives to detect the meaning in the iconography of a national and family history.

Katia Kameli lives in Paris and has been creating a full and multifaceted body of work since the early 2000s. With her dual French and Algerian culture, she crosses boundaries to interrogate the blind spots of history. Kameli connects far-flung facts, ties loose links, and gives voice to silenced words to write counter-narratives.