Screening and discussion: “Dreams have no titles” with Zineb Sedira

Tuesday 3 October, 7.00 pm
Salle cinéma Michel Piccoli, Villa Médicis
Event in French and Italian

Presentation of Ennio Lorenzini‘s film Les Mains Libres, by Zineb Sedira and Luca Peretti. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the audience.

Event organised in partnership with the British School at Rome.

→ Ticketing link coming soon

There are no plans to record or rebroadcast this event.

In this interview, Zineb Sedira talks about the project she presented at the Venice Biennale 2022: Dreams have no titles, a work centred on militant cinema and co-productions between Algeria, France and Italy. It was during her research for the Biennial that she discovered Les Mains libres, a little-known film made in 1964. It was the first Algerian production on the international scene, directed by the Italian filmmaker Ennio Lorenzini (1934-1982). To coincide with the screening of this film, Zineb Sedira talks about her work with Luca Peretti, a historian of Italian cinema and culture.

Restoration of the film Les Mains libres

Several months after the start of its investigation, a 35mm print was found at the AAMOD – Archivio Audiovisivo del Movimento Operaio e Democratico and restored thanks to the Cinematheque of Bologna, in collaboration with Casbah Entertainment and the Cinematheque of Alger. The restoration work corrected the technical problems associated with the print and restored the original black and white of the archive sequences shot in colour.

Synopsis

Les Mains Libres reveals a multifaceted Algeria, newly created in colour and far from the simplistic clichés conveyed by the press and the French army. For the first time, it is possible to see images covering the whole of Algeria, bearing witness to the richness of its landscapes and the diversity of its traditions. Using the aesthetics of militant cinema, Les Mains Libres showcases precious archive material from the Algerian War, bearing political witness to the lingering traces of colonisation and the negotiations that followed Algeria’s accession to independence.

Running time: 56 min
French VO, Italian ST

Zineb Sedira

Zineb Sedira lives in London and works between Paris, Algiers and London. Over the past 25 years, Zineb Sedira has developed a sensitive artistic approach, focusing on migration, narrative and the biases of official history.

For her, artistic creation is an act of resistance: against oblivion, against hegemonies and against the status quo. This is particularly evident in her project Dreams have no titles (2022), which received a special mention from the jury at the Venice Biennale, where the artist represented France. In 2021, she gave a lecture at the Villa Medici to present her project, along with Yasmina Reggad (co-curator of the French Pavilion at the Venice Biennale).

Her work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions at the Tate Britain (London, 2002); the Centre Pompidou (Paris, 2004, 2009); the Photographer’s Gallery (London, 2006); the Musée d’Art Moderne d’Alger (2007); the Palais de Tokyo (France, 2010); Prefix-Institute of Contemporary Art (Toronto, 2010); Blaffer Art Museum (Houston, 2013); Smithsonian (Washington, 2015); Beirut Art Center (Lebanon, 2018); Liverpool Biennale (UK, 2021); French Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale (Italy, 2022).

TO PROLONG THE DISCUSSION

Discussion with Zineb Sedira and Morad Montazami
Wednesday 4 October, 6pm
British School at Rome

Zineb Sedira will be in conversation with Villa Medici resident Morad Montazami at the British School at Rome on Wednesday 4 October. They will discuss the more technical and methodological aspects of his work, from the beginning of his career to the present day.