Climbing the Mountains
Spring Grants 2024 - Production Stage
Sabrina Chebbi / Feature Documentary / France, Algeria, Qatar / 80 min / Original Language: Arabic, French, Kabyle / Interests: Documentary
Synopsis
The film begins with a haunting nightmare characterised by the sounds of helicopters, dark animation, and archival footage of a French army helicopter over my mother’s village during the Algerian War in 1959. On October 17, 2020, France imposed a curfew, echoing the tragic events of October 17, 1961, when 200 Algerians were drowned in the Seine during a peaceful protest. This curfew rekindles the transgenerational trauma of persecution. I have come to realise that many women also share these nightmares of persecution, rooted in what our grandmothers endured during the Algerian War of Liberation.
When I talk to my grandmothers, I understand that these nightmares reflect a violent reality experienced by women throughout the country. I am committed to recording this history and memory before it fades completely. Most of the civilians were traumatised by the tactics used by the French army to terrorise the population and prevent them from supporting the revolution. Amid the misty mountains of Kabylia, I see that some of these women have discovered ways to cope with their trauma— either by climbing the mountains, which signifies joining the fight and the resistance in Kabyle language, or by singing Achewiq, our traditional songs, to heal. The past of resistance and the healing power of our cultural ancestral chants intertwine, guiding us into the future
Credits
- Director
- Sabrina Chebbi
- Screenwriter
- Sabrina Chebbi
- Producer
- Sabrina Chebbi, Kenji Accard, Oualid Baha
- Production Company
- Idurar production, Asaru Production, Tact Production
About the Director
Sabrina Chebbi is an Algerian and French producer and director. She began her journey in documentary filmmaking as a self-taught filmmaker in 2013. Shocked by the racist representations targeting her community, her first cinematic gesture was to change the representations of BIPOCs in France, descendants of countries colonised by France. She directed, produced and distributed 'Les Coups de Leurs Privilèges', a feature-length documentary about racist police crimes that go unpunished and the history of struggles over the issue. The film was screened in seven countries across Europe and Latin America over four years and was seen by 10,000 viewers. Sabrina runs workshops on representations in cinema and works regularly as a consultant on Third Cinema, also known as decolonial cinema. In 2024, she set up her Algerian production company, Asaru Production.