Across continents and decades, filmmakers have faced censorship, intimidation, and exile for telling uncomfortable truths. Some films were banned outright. Others were attacked, suppressed, or quietly buried. The Battle of Algiers is a perfect example of the tension between creative expression and state control.

Set during the Algerian War of Independence, the film reconstructs the urban guerrilla campaign waged against French colonial forces in the Casbah of Algiers. What unfolds is an unflinching portrait of resistance, repression, and the cycles of violence that define both. Neither side is spared.

Banned in France for five years after its release and screened by revolutionary movements and military strategists alike, the film occupies a rare position in cinema history: it has been claimed, condemned, and studied by nearly every side of the debates it depicts. Those debates have not ended. Questions about terrorism and counterterrorism, occupation and resistance, collective punishment and state violence remain as contested today as they were in 1966.

Cinema Under Pressure presents landmark works that challenged power, questioned authority, and faced the consequences. This screening and conversation series examines films that confronted political systems and provoked censorship, suppression, or backlash in response. Each program pairs a major film with a discussion featuring invited guest experts in film, history, and related fields.

Our guest speaker for this program will be Sohail Daulatzai, a UC Irvine professor. Daulatzai explores the afterlives of empire, Black Radicalism and decolonization across scholarship, film/video, text and the archive. He’s the author and co/editor of several books including Fifty Years of the Battle of Algiers: Past as Prologue. He’s directed short film/video with Yasiin Bey, the critically acclaimed band Algiers, and Zack de la Rocha and he’s collaborated with artists such as Rage Against the Machine, Bouchra Khalili, Jamel Shabazz, Immortal Technique, Riz Ahmed, Suheir Hammad, Brother Ali, A.G. Rojas, Chuck D, and others.

The program will be preceded by a complimentary reception starting at 6 p.m., with the program beginning at 6:30 p.m.

RSVPs for this free program do not guarantee admission to the A-Frame Theater. Limited seating will be available on a first come, first served basis.