Mia Bendrimia’s ‘Magma,’ Produced With Oscar Nominee Kira Simon-Kennedy, Confronts France’s ‘Willful Amnesia’ About Colonial Past in Algeria

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In her first documentary film, “Magma,” Mia Bendrimia – a filmmaker with French-Algerian roots – embarks on an emotional exploration delving into both her family’s history and that of the country. This captivating project is part of the Docs in Progress strand within the industry section, Agora, at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.

This movie, created by Bendrimia and co-produced by Oscar nominee Kira Simon-Kennedy (“Ascension”), Imane Lamime for Nazar Films and 19 Mulholland Drive, narrates a director’s journey to uncover her Algerian family heritage. This history has been concealed by the silence surrounding a tumultuous period in France’s colonial past. As she delves into the reasons behind how colonization fractured her family, she embarks on her first trip to Algeria. Here, she unearths how the haunting remnants of the past still resonate in the present day.

In the midst of Algeria’s struggle for freedom, the film “Magma” tells a deeply personal tale, focusing on a family dealing with the lasting effects of their complex history with North Africa, as described by Bendrimia – these impacts being the emotional scars passed down through generations, often referred to as intergenerational trauma.

In her conversation with EbMaster in Thessaloniki, the director reveals that Algeria was a forbidden topic in her upbringing. She explains, “We were quite estranged,” adding that her French-born father had neither visited the country nor learned Arabic. Over time, as she began to probe, she understood that this omission stemmed from fear due to her grandfather’s past experiences.

During Algeria’s struggle for independence, Bendrimia’s grandfather was a harki – one of the Muslim locals who fought alongside the French army. Post Algeria’s independence in 1962, harkis were seen as traitors at home and suffered terrible reprisals for their allegiance to the previous colonial rulers. In contrast, France turned its back on them; President Charles de Gaulle labeled them as “mercenaries.” Consequently, many harkis ended up being detained in internment camps.

In Bendrimia’s upbringing, the harsh past was neither taught in schools nor discussed at home. Her grandmother, who held the role of the family’s main memory-bearer, was elusive when it came to those “torturous and challenging periods.” Bendrimia admits that even though the war ended over half a century ago, the wounds remain raw. “It took many years for my family to come to terms with discussing what transpired,” she states. “With much persistence, empathy, trust, and time, I was finally able to start piecing together ‘Magma’.

During her investigation, the director stumbled upon some astonishing truths, including the contribution made by her grandfather’s relative – a highly respected Algerian freedom fighter famously known as the “Algerian Rambo” – in the fight for independence. She described this revelation as one of those instances where real-life events surpassed fiction and often complicated her attempts to provide a simple account of her family’s history.

She remarks that the tale turned out to be far more intricate than she initially assumed. She ran into numerous inconsistencies and multiple variations of the narrative. Unraveling it proved to be a greater challenge than expected. It was both baffling and exasperating, yet there was an undeniable beauty to it.

Titled “Magma,” this film subtly conveys the filmmaker’s notion of the explosive character of buried recollections, whether they be individual or collective. These hidden memories are depicted as if they could suddenly burst forth and spill over into the current moment, causing upheaval.

She explains that events in her family mirror the patterns found in France, where there seems to be a deliberate forgetting or dismissal of history. This movie, she notes, serves not just as a means for personal healing, but also as a guide or toolbox for others who might feel inspired to explore similar topics within their own families. By tackling taboo subjects within her family, she aims to show that such discussions are not only feasible but crucial.

As a film enthusiast who was recognized with an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary in 2021 for Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension”, I firmly believe that now is the perfect moment to engage in these crucial discussions here in France. It’s been just within the last couple of years that people have begun to grapple with this complex issue, and we sincerely hope that our work can serve as a catalyst for dialogue, given that France has traditionally been somewhat reluctant to confront its colonial history.

The nation is gradually confronting the less favorable parts of its past as identified by Bendrimia. There’s been a surge of interest in academics and public discussion about decolonization, leading to the former President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledging France’s historical role in neglecting the harkis – soldiers who fought alongside their previous colonizers. In 2012, he admitted this oversight.

Bendrimia views these cautious steps as symbolic of the “eagerness to acknowledge past events” that sparked her film creation. She expresses her desire to foster a more extensive conversation and inspire those who recognize pieces of their story within ours, to embark on their own investigations and perhaps embark on their personal healing journeys too.

The Thessaloniki Intl. Documentary Festival runs March 6 – 16.

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2025-03-11 16:18