28 min – 2023
Director : Arwa ABUWARA and Turab SHAH (Algeria)
Production : Arwa ABUWARA (Algeria) and Turab SHAH (Algeria), Other Cinemas (UK)
Located in the south of the Algerian Sahara, in the heart of the Hoggar mountains, the Mertoutak village is inhabited by the Escamarans, a community of black Algerians. Surrounded by rock art and traces of French nuclear testing, they bear witness to the impact of colonialism on the environment and their lives.
Arwa ABUWARA is an artist dedicated to exploring race, environment, and the legacy of colonialism through cinema. Turab SHAH is a filmmaker and cinematographer. He is particularly interested in the legacy of colonialism. With Arwa, they co-founded Other Cinemas, an award-winning project to showcase the work of black and non-white filmmakers through a free community screening program and film school.