Filmmaker Johnson Traoré dies before directing Algerian Senegalese movie
DAKAR (Senegal)- Senegalese director, script writer and producer Mahama Johnson Traoré who has been asked to co-produce a movie on the struggle of African women backed by Algeria passed away in Paris, at age 68, it was announced Tuesday in Dakar.
Died Monday, Johnson Traoré was directing with Algerian producer and director Boualem Aïssaoui, feature length movie "Nder ou les flammes de l’honneur", one of African films listed in the Pan-African Cultural Festival of Algiers (PANAF 2009). Shooting was to take place in north of Senegal.
Founding member of the Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou
(Fespaco), the late filmmaker was at the PANAF of Algiers, board member of a
Co-production Aid Commission initiated by the Algerian Ministry of Culture.
[Aps 9/3/10]
Women filmmakers: A question of will and choice
ALGIERS- Algerian cinema has focused, from the very beginning, on women issues through films dealing with social themes directed by men.
Several feature-length films have been devoted to women's affairs such as "Leila and the Others," by Sid Ali Mazif, "Douar En'sa" (Women's Hamlet), by Mohamed Chouikh, "A Wife for my Son," by Ali Ghanem or "The Harem of Mrs Osman," by Nadir Mokneche.
The first films made by women were produced in the 2000s, like "Rachida," by Yamina Chouikh, ''Barakat!'' (Enough!), by Djamila Sahraoui, "Mel Watni?" (What Happens to my Country?), by Fatima Belhadj and "The Other Side of the Mirror), by Nadia Cherabi.
[Aps 8/3/10]
Publishing of forty books on Tamazight culture
ORAN (Algeria)- Forty books around the Tamazight culture will be published this year in Algeria, Secretary General of the High Council for Amazigh (HCA), Youcef Merahi said Saturday at Oran.
These publications which intend to promote the Amazigh culture, cover various fields of art and literature, including poetry, theatre and the novel, he said on the sidelines of a meeting devoted to the presentation of two new books, his and that of another author, Mourad Brahimi.
The books are also provided for studies and research on the Tamazight language, said Merahi, observing a "steady progress each year in the edition of the Tamazight themed books in Algeria both qualitatively and quantitatively.”
Other actions are also planned to highlight the richness of Amazigh culture, he said, adding that two events "open doors on the HCA "will be held next April in Akbou (Bejaia) and Paris (France).
[Aps 7/3/10]
"Ghorba, Légende", the sordid daily life of "illegal immigrants" in Barbes
PARIS (France)- "Ghorba, Légende" (Immigrating, the tall story), a short film by the young director Amel Kateb, presented Thursday at the Algerian Cultural Centre in Paris, is a is a deeply moving film on the daily life of the illegal immigrants "the undocumented" in France.
It is about the sordid daily life of Algerian young "harragas" in a hotel room in Barbes, living in constant fear of being picked up and deported and thus they choose casual jobs as selling smuggled cigarettes near metro stations or small restaurants of the 18th district of Paris.
These young people, "who arrived to Barbes thanks to the GPS," as told by one of the characters of the short film. They talk about themselves, to each other, making a mockery of their situation and living conditions and looking critically at the Eldorado they have dreamed of and for which they risked their life by crossing the Mediterranean aboard small boats.
[Aps 5/3/10]
Imzad, an art and a heritage preserved by women
ILLIZI (Algeria)- The Tuareg artistic heritage in the region of Tassili N'Ajjer has been for a long time preserved from a generation to another by the players of the Imzad, an ancestral musical instrument exclusively played by women.
The Imzad is also linked to the status of women, who have a "special importance" among the Tuaregs, said Abdennebi Zendri of the University of Tamanrasset.
"If the status of women is undermined or depreciated, the Imzad and the Tuareg culture will be deeply affected and may even disappear," the sociologist said, adding that "if the status changes, pointing out that it will also have impacts on the Tuareg culture in general, including the Imzad, the Tindi and all the themes sung so far."
[Aps 5/3/10]
Call for gathering and publishing Sidi Boumediene's manuscripts
TLEMCEN (Algeria)- The participants in the international conference on Sidi Boumediene, held in Tlemcen, called specialists and researchers at the closing session Thursday to gather and publish the manuscripts of the patron saint.
The specialists should study the collected manuscripts to distinguish between those that were really written by Sidi Boumediene and which were not.
According to a Recommendations Committee member, the participants also called for the creation of an annual forum and for considering all the aspects relating to Sheikh Sidi Boumediene and the men of knowledge he mixed with during his life, a life rich in events and achievements.
[Aps 5/3/10]
Archaeological discoveries in Oran Palais du Dey
ALGIERS- Archaeological fortuitous discoveries, consisting on two chambers and material, have been made in Oran Palais du
Dey, the National Office of Cultural Properties’ Management and Exploitation (ONGEBC) announced Thursday.
The operation led by a team of archaeologists, after updating a mound, during works of weeding and cleaning of small rocky raising in perimeter of Châteauneuf hotel, allowed to unveil two chambers dug under limestone, which interior was developed with coloured distemper on the face and plaster.
[Aps 4/3/10]
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DAKAR (Senegal)- Senegalese director, script writer and producer Mahama Johnson Traoré who has been asked to co-produce a movie on the struggle of African women backed by Algeria passed away in Paris, at age 68, it was announced Tuesday in Dakar.
Died Monday, Johnson Traoré was directing with Algerian producer and director Boualem Aïssaoui, feature length movie "Nder ou les flammes de l’honneur", one of African films listed in the Pan-African Cultural Festival of Algiers (PANAF 2009). Shooting was to take place in north of Senegal.
Founding member of the Pan African Film Festival of Ouagadougou
(Fespaco), the late filmmaker was at the PANAF of Algiers, board member of a
Co-production Aid Commission initiated by the Algerian Ministry of Culture. 
ALGIERS- Algerian cinema has focused, from the very beginning, on women issues through films dealing with social themes directed by men.
Several feature-length films have been devoted to women's affairs such as "Leila and the Others," by Sid Ali Mazif, "Douar En'sa" (Women's Hamlet), by Mohamed Chouikh, "A Wife for my Son," by Ali Ghanem or "The Harem of Mrs Osman," by Nadir Mokneche.
The first films made by women were produced in the 2000s, like "Rachida," by Yamina Chouikh, ''Barakat!'' (Enough!), by Djamila Sahraoui, "Mel Watni?" (What Happens to my Country?), by Fatima Belhadj and "The Other Side of the Mirror), by Nadia Cherabi. 
ORAN (Algeria)- Forty books around the Tamazight culture will be published this year in Algeria, Secretary General of the High Council for Amazigh (HCA), Youcef Merahi said Saturday at Oran.
These publications which intend to promote the Amazigh culture, cover various fields of art and literature, including poetry, theatre and the novel, he said on the sidelines of a meeting devoted to the presentation of two new books, his and that of another author, Mourad Brahimi.
The books are also provided for studies and research on the Tamazight language, said Merahi, observing a "steady progress each year in the edition of the Tamazight themed books in Algeria both qualitatively and quantitatively.”
Other actions are also planned to highlight the richness of Amazigh culture, he said, adding that two events "open doors on the HCA "will be held next April in Akbou (Bejaia) and Paris (France).
PARIS (France)- "Ghorba, Légende" (Immigrating, the tall story), a short film by the young director Amel Kateb, presented Thursday at the Algerian Cultural Centre in Paris, is a is a deeply moving film on the daily life of the illegal immigrants "the undocumented" in France.
It is about the sordid daily life of Algerian young "harragas" in a hotel room in Barbes, living in constant fear of being picked up and deported and thus they choose casual jobs as selling smuggled cigarettes near metro stations or small restaurants of the 18th district of Paris.
These young people, "who arrived to Barbes thanks to the GPS," as told by one of the characters of the short film. They talk about themselves, to each other, making a mockery of their situation and living conditions and looking critically at the Eldorado they have dreamed of and for which they risked their life by crossing the Mediterranean aboard small boats. 
ILLIZI (Algeria)- The Tuareg artistic heritage in the region of Tassili N'Ajjer has been for a long time preserved from a generation to another by the players of the Imzad, an ancestral musical instrument exclusively played by women.
The Imzad is also linked to the status of women, who have a "special importance" among the Tuaregs, said Abdennebi Zendri of the University of Tamanrasset.
"If the status of women is undermined or depreciated, the Imzad and the Tuareg culture will be deeply affected and may even disappear," the sociologist said, adding that "if the status changes, pointing out that it will also have impacts on the Tuareg culture in general, including the Imzad, the Tindi and all the themes sung so far." 
TLEMCEN (Algeria)- The participants in the international conference on Sidi Boumediene, held in Tlemcen, called specialists and researchers at the closing session Thursday to gather and publish the manuscripts of the patron saint.
The specialists should study the collected manuscripts to distinguish between those that were really written by Sidi Boumediene and which were not.
According to a Recommendations Committee member, the participants also called for the creation of an annual forum and for considering all the aspects relating to Sheikh Sidi Boumediene and the men of knowledge he mixed with during his life, a life rich in events and achievements. 
ALGIERS- Archaeological fortuitous discoveries, consisting on two chambers and material, have been made in Oran Palais du
Dey, the National Office of Cultural Properties’ Management and Exploitation (ONGEBC) announced Thursday.
The operation led by a team of archaeologists, after updating a mound, during works of weeding and cleaning of small rocky raising in perimeter of Châteauneuf hotel, allowed to unveil two chambers dug under limestone, which interior was developed with coloured distemper on the face and plaster.
