In the name of Safia(2023)

Belgium, France, Algerian Arabic, French - 70 min

Director

Safia Kessas

Color

Length

70 min

Language

Algerian Arabic, French

Producer

Isabelle Truc, Camille Laemlé

INFORMATION

contact@iotaproduction.com

In the name of Safia

Belgium, France

LogLine

Unraveling the story of the Algerian War of Independence and the one of my family also means drawing out the threads of memories blurred, forgotten and silenced by the ferocity of arbitrariness.

Synopsis

An unfinished interview with my father Tayeb Kessas, in February 2019 just before his death, left questions unanswered. In this exchange, the shadow of another Safia, my aunt, reappeared. The circumstances of her death, during the Algerian War of Independence, remain extremely unclear. Her disappearance is shrouded in mystery. Using this fragment of family history, which I carry on my identity card, I set out to follow in the footsteps of this other Safia, to retrace the story of a woman forgotten because of the things left unsaid, the shame and, above all, the erasure of memory. Following the hidden paths of my own family history is also a way of encountering history. To follow in Safia's footsteps is first and foremost to discover or rediscover a history that is taught little or not at all.

Safia Kessas

Director

Director’s Statement

My project is about taking hold of history to tell your own story. Telling your own story through the people involved. Driven by a deep-seated need to know who this other Safia was, and above all to understand where I came from, I decided to follow in her footsteps. Finding Safia means assembling a series of encounters with those who know a fragment of the story. And each encounter brings its share of clues and memories that bring me a little closer to the truth, a truth that is intertwined with the history of colonization and immigration. Its contours freeze and dissipate at the same time, as if it were impalpable. This quest for identity in the broadest sense is profoundly collective: starting with a small Brussels family of Algerian origin, it opens up perspectives on the horrors of the War of Independence, and a forgotten reality of beauty and dignity. In this story, I move forward as a character. I ask questions, I question myself, about what I discover about my loved ones, balancing on a thread, without saying too much, making room for poetry and the imaginary. This story means taking the risk of being destabilized, but it also means letting those whose words have never been heard, speak. To listen to oneself, bringing to light intimate thoughts that are forbidden or inhibited. This sometimes involves exchanges that are joyful and funny, as Kabyles can be, but also complicated, tense or liberating, always in the warmth of proximity.

Isabelle Truc, Camille Laemlé

Producer

Producer’s Note

For this project, director Safia Kessas has been engaged in an introspective process, gradually releasing her "I" voice and opening up to her personal and family history, to share a feeling and a story with universal consequences: the blurring of memories. 

In this film project, she questions her first name, Safia, which she received as a tribute to her aunt, who died in Algeria, and sets off in search of the truth about her aunt's death. In this way, she unravels the story of her family, which is interwoven with the larger history of Algeria and the struggle for independence. Safia Kessas takes us on a quest for her mixed identity, between Belgium, France and Algeria, and helps us to feel and understand the memory blurring that accompanies it and that she is going to clear up, a heritage that is little or never spoken of, resulting among other things from colonial traumas. 


This film, which takes its roots in the Algerian war, can be seen as a much broader echo for all those who, in their own, their families and loved ones’ history, have been confronted with colonization. Deep traces remain and are passed on from one generation to the next. But it is possible to become aware of them and free oneself from them. In "In the name of Safia'', a possible liberation can come from the transmission of local beliefs that remain alive. This is one of the ways to explore to overcome colonial traumas.


Producer’s Filmography

Isabelle Truc founded IOTA PRODUCTION in 2000. Since then, this dynamic and persevering producer has produced and co-produced around 90 films, including shorts and features as well as documentaries and animated features. Her speciality: discovering, developing and supporting filmmakers and projects from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Belgium). Some of the films she has produced have won awards at major festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam, Toronto and even the Oscars in LA. “Our heart beats to the rhythm of films with a relevant and strong point of view and a coherent and bold artistic approach”.