CinemaOSMovie · 1983 · 0h 57m

The Zerda or the Songs of Forgetting

81%(5)IMDbDramaDocumentary

“La Zerda and the songs of oblivion” (1982) is one of only two films made by the Algerian novelist Assia Djebar, with “La Nouba des femmes du mont Chenoua” (1977). Powerful poetic essay based on archives, in which Assia Djebar – in collaboration with the poet Malek Alloula and the composer Ahmed Essyad – deconstructs the French colonial propaganda of the Pathé-Gaumont newsreels from 1912 to 1942, to reveal the signs of revolt among the subjugated North African population. Through the reassembly of these propaganda images, Djebar recovers the history of the Zerda ceremonies, suggesting that the power and mysticism of this tradition were obliterated and erased by the predatory voyeurism of the colonial gaze. This very gaze is thus subverted and a hidden tradition of resistance and struggle is revealed, against any exoticizing and orientalist temptation.

Directed byAssia Djebar

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
0h 57m
Language
FR
Released
February 27, 1983
Studios
O.N.C.I.C.

Featuring

Cast & crew

Creative team
Directed by
Assia Djebar
Assia Djebar
Written by
Assia Djebar
Assia Djebar
Malek Alloula
Malek Alloula

Keep watching

More like this

Elli Fat Mat9.0

Elli Fat Mat

1989 · Film

Mermaid

Mermaid

2026 · Film

The Odds of Recovery

The Odds of Recovery

2002 · Film

Endtime5.8

Endtime

2014 · Film

28 Days6.2

28 Days

2000 · Film

Flight of the Swan7.0

Flight of the Swan

1992 · Film

Big Girls Don't Cry6.0

Big Girls Don't Cry

2002 · Film

Autumn in New York6.1

Autumn in New York

2000 · Film

Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr.5.1

Remembering the Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr.

2014 · Film

Eva4.8

Eva

1953 · Film

Pay It Forward7.4

Pay It Forward

2000 · Film

The Taste of Others6.9

The Taste of Others

2000 · Film

Never Mind the Wall5.0

Never Mind the Wall

2001 · Film

What a Girl Wants6.3

What a Girl Wants

2003 · Film

Delight3.8

Delight

2013 · Film

Desideri Di Sabbia10.0

Desideri Di Sabbia

1992 · Film

Ylang Ylang Residence3.0

Ylang Ylang Residence

2008 · Film

Forget America5.1

Forget America

2000 · Film

Roundup

Roundup

2020 · Film

Picked for you

Recommended movies

Four Daughters7.4

Four Daughters

2023 · Film

Varda by Agnès7.8

Varda by Agnès

2019 · Film

For Sama8.2

For Sama

2019 · Film

The Image Book6.3

The Image Book

2018 · Film

Daguerréotypes7.3

Daguerréotypes

1978 · Film

Van Gogh: Painted with Words7.3

Van Gogh: Painted with Words

2010 · Film

Audrey7.1

Audrey

2020 · Film

Heart of a Dog6.5

Heart of a Dog

2015 · Film

The Bus: A French Football Mutiny6.9

The Bus: A French Football Mutiny

2026 · Film

Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet6.8

Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet

2002 · Film

In the Realms of the Unreal7.2

In the Realms of the Unreal

2004 · Film

OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film)7.8

OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film)

2022 · Film

McQueen7.4

McQueen

2018 · Film

Dahomey6.5

Dahomey

2024 · Film

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno7.3

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno

2009 · Film

Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)8.4

Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)

2026 · Film

The Beaches of Agnès7.7

The Beaches of Agnès

2008 · Film

Meetin' WA6.3

Meetin' WA

1986 · Film

Deliver Us from Evil7.2

Deliver Us from Evil

2006 · Film

Cameraperson6.7

Cameraperson

2016 · Film