For three weeks, the few cinemas open in Algeria were adorned with pink to project the American blockbuster Barbie. As elsewhere in the world, endless lines of spectators filled rooms that had come alive only on rare occasions during the year. Until, Sunday August 13, Greta Gerwig’s film, already one of the most seen in history on the big screen, disappeared, the result of an unexpected decision by the Ministry of Culture.
While the phenomenon continues to break spectator records around the world, Algeria has just joined the list of the few countries that have decided to boycott it. The information was not communicated by official means but was first given by the information site 24H Algeriawhich claims that a memo from the ministry has been sent to all movie theaters in the three wilayas (prefectures) – Algiers, Oran and Constantine – where the film was screened, summoning them to “withdraw immediately”. The film’s distributor in Algeria, MD Ciné, has also been notified. Watched by 40,000 Algerians before it was banned, Barbie would have been withdrawn for undermining morals, according to informed sources. The information was later confirmed by cinemas, which removed the film poster from their storefronts.
Among the spectators, many expressed their astonishment. ” When I saw Barbie, the room was full. Entire families had come to see the film. I didn’t notice any signs of discontent. That’s why I can’t understand this decision.”says Shahinez, a 29-year-old teacher, who saw the feature film the day after its release in Oran (West). “We are talking about scenes promoting homosexuality, although I have not noticed anything in this direction”, she adds. The Algerian authorities gave no explanation for their deprogramming order.
“Declare war on a doll”
The Algerian cinema community reacted much more epidermally. An Algerian director and producer contacted by The world, and who requested anonymity, wonders: “If the film was initially programmed, it was because it had obtained an exploitation visa from the viewing commission, the body that authorizes the distribution of films. I therefore find it scandalous to deprogram a film. It’s sad to declare war on a doll. »
Director Sofia Djama was one of the first to raise her voice: “As usual, Algeria acted by mimicry. The film was censored in Kuwait and Lebanon and suddenly Algeria woke up saying that it has to be the case here too. » In a seven-minute video broadcast on her networks, the director denounced “an infantilization of Algerian society”. ” [Les dirigeants algériens] yielded to the voice of populism, the bigotry of fundamentalism and reactionaries. To say that the film does not represent [les] value[s] Algerian[s]… as if the Algerian people were a monolithic people where only one thought reigns. »
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