The Sahara International Film Festival, also known as FiSahara, is an annual event which takes place in the Sahrawi refugee camps, at the southwest corner of Algeria, near the border with Western Sahara. It is the only film festival in the world held in a refugee camp. The first festival was in large part organised by Peruvian film director Javier Corcuera.
For its first three years, FiSahara was held alternately in the Wilaya of Smara, the Wilaya of Ausserd, and the Wilaya of El Aaiún. Since 2007, the festival has been staged in the Wilaya of Dajla. The event is backed by the Polisario Front, but largely organised and funded by donors from Spain, the former colonial power in Western Sahara. The festival has attracted support from Spanish film celebrities, including Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Pedro Almodóvar. Musicians like Fermín Muguruza,Me gusta el Sáhara, me gustas tú Cine entre las dunas – El País, 23 April 2008 Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara (FiSahara) 2009 Radiochango.com Manu Chao, Macaco,Macaco actuará en la clausura del VI Festival Internacional de Cine Del Sahara (FiSAHARA) Macaco.es, 7 May 2009 Iván Ferreiro,Ivan Ferreiro corona el desierto El Mundo, 3 May 2010 El ChojinEl Chojin en FISAHARA 2011 Elchojin.net, 12 April 2011 and TomasitoEl Canijo de Jerez y Tomasito en el Festival de Cine del Sahara Inzona.es, 1 May 2012 have performed in concerts during the festival.
FiSahara is billed as an initiative to bring film as an entertainment and cultural form to the thousands of Sahrawis who live in the Algerian desert. It also aims to provide cultural entertainment and educational opportunities to the refugees.
In 2010, a twinning agreement was signed between the FiSahara and the San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival.Objective Fisahara: Twinning between the San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival and the Sahara International Film Festival, seen in pictures and first-hand accounts Donostia.org
White Camel winners The White Camel () is the festival's top prize, awarded for the best film by election of the spectators.Additional festival events Festivalsahara.com It consists of a white female camel, which is traditionally donated to the refugee family who hosted the actors or director of the winning film during the festival. The winners receive a trophy depicting a white camel and a desert rose.
Edition Winner Original title Director(s) Production country(ies) 1st O bosque animado and Manolo Gómez Spain 2nd L'extraordinaire destin de Madame Brouette Moussa Sene Absa Senegal, France and Canada 3rd Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel Byambasuren Davaa and Mongolia and Germany 4th Azur et Asmar Michel Ocelot France, Belgium, Italy and Spain 5th Ken Loach United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and France 6th Steven Soderbergh Spain, France, United States and Germany 7thEl problema. Testimonio del pueblo saharaui Jordi Ferrer and Pablo Vidal Spain 8thEntrelobos Gerardo Olivares Spain and Germany 9thHijos de las nubes: la última colonia Álvaro Longoria Spain 10th Milly Moabl South Africa 11th Legna: habla el verso saharaui Juan Ignacio Robles, Bahia Mahmud Awah and Juan Carlos Gimeno Spain and Western Sahara 12th Pamela Yates United States 13th Leyuad, un viaje al pozo de los versos , Brahim Chagaf and Inés G. Aparicio Western Sahara and Spain 14th Soukeina, 4400 días de noche Spain 15th Campeones Javier Fesser Spain 16th توفة Brahim Chagaf Western Sahara 17th وَانِي بِيك Rabah Slimani Algeria 18th ٢٠٠ متر Ameen Nayfeh Palestine 19th اللي باقي منك Cherien Dabis Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United States and Egypt
Guest country In some years, the festival has chosen a country to be a guest in the event. In such cases, films from the guest country are screened, and related events take place along with the other acts in the festival.
Year Guest Country 2006 Cuba: país invitado en el III Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara Somosjovenes.cu Cuba será el país invitado en el III Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara Rebelion.org, 13 March 2006 2009 Arranca FiSahara 09 FiSahara.blogspot.com.es, 23 March 2009 FISAHARA 09 Vivir bien es un placer!!! (¡Hola!), 21 April 2009 2010 El FCAT con el pueblo saharaui en el FiSahara 2010 African Film Festival of Tarifa FiSahara, el festival de cine que se celebra en un campamento de refugiados 20 minutos, 12 April 2010 2011 Concluye el FiSahara 2011: entre el cine y la reivindicación Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 9 May 2011 FiSahara: cine bajo las estrellas ABC, 4 May 2011 2012 "No conseguirán atemorizar al FiSahara" Público (EFE), 2 May 2012 La delegación de México en el FiSahara afirma su determinación de romper el silencio informativo en el Sáhara Occidental Sahara Press Service, 3 May 2012 2013 Decade after: FiSahara achieved international status, confirms Saharawi Culture Minister Sahara Press Service, 10 July 2013 2014 South Africa guest of honor of FiSahara 2014 and Nelson Mandela honored in the occasion SADR Permanent Mission in Ethiopia and African Union, 9 April 2014 2023
External links
24-page book about the FiSahara festival, with texts by Javier Bardem, Javier Corcuera, Eduardo Galeano, Juan Carlos Izagirre, Paul Laverty, and others.
References