Automne: Octobre à Alger (Herbst: Oktober in Algier)

Algeria 1992, 93 Min, German subtitles
(director Malik Lakhdar-Hamina is present)

A film realized during the aftermath of the strikes and demonstrations against the effects of the economic crisis in the late 1980s: Djihad’s own family reflects the divisions which one day will convulse the whole country. He plays in a rock band. His brother makes the mosque his second home and lives according to religious dictates. Djihad’s wife, the radio host, advocates for emancipation from traditional roles. While the Islamists agitate against worldly pleasures, the band runs into trouble with the arms of the state. The illegal strikes begin, and the streets are full of youths out to destroy all symbols of party rule.

Malik Lakhdar-Hamina Born in 1962, the actor, director and screenwriter played as a child in films by his father, Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina, who won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 1975 with “Chronique des années de braise.” He began his career as a director in the late 1980s. His “Automne: Octobre à Alger” was a candidate for an Oscar nomination in the category “Best Foreign Language Film” in 1994.