Cartouches gauloises is a 2007 French film

Cinema of France

The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...

, filmed in Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 and directed by Mehdi Charef

Mehdi Charef

Mehdi Charef is a French film director and screenwriter of Algerian descent. He has worked on eleven films between 1985 and 2007. His film Le thé au harem d'Archimède was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival...

. It was an official selection of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival

2007 Cannes Film Festival

The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...

.

Plot

The plot concerns the final stages of the Algerian War of Independence

Algerian War of Independence

The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...

 in the summer if 1962, as seen through the eyes of Ali, the 11 year-old son of an FLN

National Liberation Front (Algeria)

The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...

moudjahid, his mother and his French and Arab friends, as they experience the massive social changes of the end of French rule. The ensemble cast consists mostly of amateur actors.

Cast

• Mohamed Faouzi Ali Cherif - Ali
• Zahia Said - Aïcha
• Thomas Millet - Nico
• Tolga Cayir - Gino
• Julien Amate - David
• Nassim Meziane - Paul
• Aurore Labrugère - Julie
• Nadia Samir - Habiba
• Bonnafet Tarbouriech - Barnabé (Station Chief)
• Mohamed Dine Elhannani - Djelloul
• Betty Krestinsky - Rachel
• Assia Brahmi - Zina
• Marc Robert - Lt. Laurent

Credits

• Directed & written by Mehdi Charef
• Produced by Salem Brahimi, Yacine Laloui & Michèle Ray-Gavras
• Original music by Armand Amar
• Cinematography by Jérôme Alméras
• Editing by Yorgos Lamprinos