In the Name of Safia
Qumra Projects
Safia Kessas / Feature Documentary / Algeria, Belgium, France, Qatar
In Arabic, French
Genres: History, Biography, War
Rated: This film has not been rated.
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Synopsis
My father gave me the name of his sister, Safia, who, he would say, had been killed by French soldiers during the Algerian War. When my father died, I decided to go in search of this other Safia, about whom I knew almost nothing. Over the course of a journey that takes me from Brussels to Paris and then to Kabylia, I begin to weave together the threads of a personal but also collective history, deconstructing the silence that has confined women—including those in my family—to shame and guilt.
About the Director
Safia Kessas is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. After five years of producing television programmes, she specialised in gender issues and created Les Grenades, a feminist digital media platform. A political scientist and former disarmament expert, she left ministerial offices in 2003 to join Tout ça ne nous rendra pas le Congo, the successor to Strip Tease. Over 12 years, she directed and produced numerous documentaries, including ‘Auschwitz’ and ‘Femme du Monde Désespérée’. Her award-winning work includes ‘Le Prix de la Déraison’ (Best Documentary, Melbourne 2020), ‘La Voix d’Henriette’ (MAX Diversity Film Festival 2021, Cannes Short Film Corner 2022), and ‘Casser les Codes’ (IBC International Award 2022). In 2024, she released Women of Science, broadcast across Europe and screened at UNESCO. She co-directed ‘Section Pro à Rive Gauche’ (2017) and trained in screenwriting under John Truby. A two-time Prix Europa nominee, she was honoured with the SACD’s Jumelles d’Or in 2021.
Credits
- Director
- Safia Kessas
- Screenwriter
- Safia Kessas
- Producer
- Isabelle Truc, Camille Laemné
- Production Company
- Iota Production, Les Films d'ici