History on screen: tensions and dialogues in North African cinemas. Call for papers

History on screen: tensions and dialogues in North African cinema

Call for papers

This international conference aims to explore the relationship between cinema and the history of North African societies. Since its inception, cinema has questioned historical events and explored their transposition to the screen. As early as the 1970s, Marc Ferro (1977-1993), an eminent historian associated with the Annales school, proposed studying cinema as a form of historical archive, insofar as cinematographic works convey the underlying values, representations and societal tensions of the era to which they belong.

The rapprochement between history and cinema also calls into question the relationship between the written word and the image, between scriptural text and filmic monstration, between the imaginary and reality - or the true/veridical -, between iconic and semiotic language and verbal language. This international conference aims to interrogate these relationships and tensions through an examination of Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian and Libyan films, as well as other cinemas from the region.

These cinemas are today witnessing a return to the "colonial history of the Maghreb", particularly to French colonization. There is also a renewed interest in the history of immigration to the other side of the Mediterranean, in political history (particularly that of the leaden years), in the history of communities, ideas and mentalities, in the history of social and cultural practices, and in the anthropological structures of the imaginary - not forgetting the profound changes that have taken place in these countries since 2011. The symposium, History on screen: tensions and dialogues in North African cinemas, is devoted to the multifaceted history told by North African cinemas, and will address a number of questions:

- In North Africa, can we speak of a cinema-document or a filmic writing of history? 
- Can we speak of a structured historical discourse conveyed by cinema?
- How do films reveal the silences and gaps in the history of North African societies?
- Do these filmic narratives reveal a cultural plurality and complexity, despite the construction of
national novels?
- What is the role of cinema in the constitution of historical knowledge about North Africa?
- Can cinema be a relevant tool for questioning the relationship between the imaginary and the "real"?
- In what way can historical research on these societies enrich the understanding of
cinematographic works?
- Is there collaboration between historians and North African filmmakers in the scriptwriting and filmic writing of  historical events?
- Do institutions and/or individuals archive and safeguard old films, including those threatened with disappearance?
- Do the creators or witnesses of amateur images today occupy the place of historians?

Proposals should be sent to Brahim Hasnaouy (IRCAM, Rabat) Click here to show mail address and Menel Zeggar (INALCO, Paris) Click here to show mail address  no later than July 15, 2025.

Paper proposals should include a title, authors' names, affiliation, an abstract (300 words) and a short bibliography. Papers will be invited to become articles for a thematic dossier.
- The conference organization will not be able to cover travel and accommodation expenses for participants.
Scientific committee Brahim Hasnaouy (IRCAM, Rabat)  ; Menel Zeggar (INALCO, Paris) ; Daniela Merolla (INALCO, Paris) 

History on screen: tensions and dialogues in North African cinema

This international conference aims to explore the relationship between cinema and the history of North African societies. Since its inception, cinema has questioned historical events and explored their transposition to the screen. 

Proposals should be sent to Brahim Hasnaouy (IRCAM, Rabat) Click here to show mail address and Menel Zeggar (INALCO, Paris) Click here to show mail address  no later than July 15, 2025.