(Pieds-noirs of Algeria, a French Story)

75 minutes, 2017
Director : Jean-François DELASSUS (France)
Production : Roche Productions (France)

In 1962, when Algeria declared independence after a civil war which had torn the country apart, nearly a million French people living in Algeria were forced to leave. Leaving the land where they were born, these men, women and their children arrived in France, a “fatherland” which most of them scarcely knew and where they were not expected. Who were they? What was their life like on the other side of the Mediterranean? Under what conditions did they return to metropolitan France, how did they manage to integrate? Through the testimonies of people who came back to France, of Algerians and historians, another look at the little-known history of these “Pieds-noirs” from Algeria.

Jean-François DELASSUS is a French journalist and film-maker. Graduate of Sciences Po, he worked first as a journalist for the written press, mainly as the Figaro’s Far East correspondent, and for radio (Europe 1 and France Inter). He is also a photographer for the Gamma agency. He has published “Japon, monstre ou modèle” (1971) which won the Albert Londres Award. He has been particularly noticed for his historical documentaries, shown on the major French channels as well in many foreign countries, such as “Somme 1916, la bataille insensée” (52 minutes, France 3, 2016), “Délivrance. Noël 1944 – 8 mai 1945, une fin de guerre” (90 minutes, TF1, 2015), “Le Front Populaire, à nous la vie” (90 minutes, France 2, 2011), “14-18, le bruit et la fureur” (100 minutes, France 2, 2008), which won an Étoile from the Scam (Société Civile des Auteurs Multimedias).