A searing, pulse-pounding account of urban resistance and colonial power, The Battle of Algiers reconstructs the Algerian struggle for independence with gripping immediacy. Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, the film blurs the line between documentary and fiction, using non-professional actors, on-location shooting, and a newsreel aesthetic to create one of the most convincing depictions of political conflict ever put to screen. Its unflinching portrayal of both insurgency and state violence remains as urgent and provocative today as it was upon release.

Long regarded as one of the greatest political films ever made, The Battle of Algiers has influenced generations of filmmakers, activists, and scholars, and continues to be studied for its formal innovation and ethical complexity. For FACETS, its significance runs just as deep—an early, formative screening that captured the spirit of discovery, urgency, and resourcefulness that still defines our programming today.

“You needed to be there. Inside an abandoned church, later transformed into a pricey condo development, we sat on seriously uncomfortable rock hard backless wooden benches and watched this very first Facets film. Projected onto (as I remember) a king size bed sheet, 16 mm film on multiple reels, deftly changed every thirty minutes or so by a very young Milos Stehlík who could thread film through a projector as quickly as any member of the incredibly powerful and deliciously corrupt Chicago projectionist union.” — David Edelberg, FACETS Board Member