Cinema and theater during the revolution
1–Introduction
The revolution did not exclusively depend on the military confrontation, it rather did on the existing methods to convey its message targeting mass awareness, and transferring its echo to the international public opinion which is the task in which artists and sportsmen played a fundamental role, just like the students, workers, agricultures and different sections of society. Moreover, after the establishment of the team of the National Liberation Front, theatrical and cinematic troupes were created for the same purpose which is to promote the Algerian matter.
2–The role of theater during the revolution
Theater was associated with Algerian people’s fight during the revolution, deriving its cases from their daily struggles, so it was truly a popular theater. The revolution also invested in theater, and the National Liberation Front approved it, especially after the Soummam convention by inviting all the intellectuals to join the revolution, so many theater people responded, and on top of the list were: Mustapha Kateb, Sid Ali Kouiret, Abdelhalim Rais, Ali Ben Mabrouk and others under the appeal of the Liberation Front made in November 1957 for the establishment of an artistic troupe.
Moreover, the first artistic troupe of the National Liberation Front appeared in April 1958 and it included two groups: the first one for theater, and the second one for singing which played a fundamental role to serve the Algerian matter through its artistic performances. Besides, one of the revolutionary plays performed by the artistic troupe of the National Liberation Front exposed the fairness of the Algerian matter, and the legitimacy of the national fight against the colonization for international opinion.
3– Cinema and its role during the revolution
The leaders of the revolution realized the importance of introducing the Algerian matter extraterritorially since the outbreak of the revolution, and used portrait to transmit the Algerian matter, so accordingly the National Liberation Front commissioned Mister Jamal Chanderli of the media sector since 1955, and with the establishment of the interim government of the Algerian republic, great importance was devoted to the media sector especially the audio-visual. Furthermore, the revolution had its cinema among the Mujahideen in the mountains in addition to the radio and the two newspapers “Al-Mujahid” and “al-Muqaouama”, where they transferred the pictures of the battle and the life of the soldiers through modest means, by going through the acidification process to turn in into live pictures of the Algerian revolution. Moreover, some men whose only arm was the camera stood out in the battle field, such as: Jamal Chanderli, Mohammed Lakhdar Hamina, the French “René Vautier” , and doctor Chaulet. Thanks to the previously mentioned men, the first training school in the cinema industry was established in the mountains of the first city under the supervision of René Vautier, which allowed the cinema department of the revolution to reflect the reality of armed struggle in Algeria through image and audio throughout a series and a group of movies produced between 1957-1962.
4–The artistic troupe of the National Liberation Front
The artistic troupe of the National Liberation Front was a group of artists, singers and actors,and some of them even engaged in political activity. It helped the revolution by collecting funds from concerts and plays to finance the supply and weapons for the Mujahideen, and conducting genocide operations for its sake.
“The artistic troupe of the National Liberation Front” was established in 1957 in the Capital Tunis by the great artist Mustapha Kateb as another attempt to take advantage of the cultural and artistic figures to publicize the Algerian matter through the participation in the international cultural festivals and manifestations.
This troupe included nationalist signing voices who were always wishing Algerian independence in its songs, some of them are: Taleb Rabah, Farid Ali, Al-Hadi Rajab, Hsissen, Mohammed Gueroumi, and the female singers: Hnifa, Khadoudja, Bahia Farah, Halima Zerkaoui, Djamila Kouasmi, and the composers: Ahmad Wahbi, Abderrahmane Aziz, Mustapha Sahnoune, and the actors: Yahia Ben Mabrouk, Sid Ali Kouiret and other. Moreover, those artists joined art and revolution with determination to participate in the publicization of the Algerian matter and the revolution, and it was the loftiest message an artist can ever convey.
The first theatrical work of the troupe was entitled: “Monsera” presented in the capital Tunis and other neighboring cities in August/July/September 1958. Subsequently, the troupe began its tours outside Tunisia starting with Libya and former Yugoslavia, and spent about twenty days in tours in Bosna, Croatia, Serbia.
Among the other performances presented by the troupe in the theaters of foreign capitals was: “Abnaa Al-Casbah” that was presented in 1959 for the first time in the Algero-Tunisian borders. Another performance was: “Nahwa Nour” (1961) in the Soviet Union, also “Al-Khalidoun” (1960) presented in Tunisia and China, in addition to “Dam Al-Ahrar” (1961) in Tunisia, Morocco, and Iraq. The troupe was warmly welcomed in the countries supporting the Algerian matter like China, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia.