Arab Film Festival Australia

Harragas

330-Harragas2.jpg
Director: Merzak Allouache
Country: Algeria
Year: 2009
Duration: 102 min

Veteran Algerian director Merzak Allouache delivers a tense drama set in the northern Algerian port city of Mostaganem. The title refers to the hordes of refugees, the Harragas, who smuggle themselves out of the country via any means possible.

Here we meet one such group, Rachid, Nasser and Imene who pay a smuggler, Hassan, to take them to Spain in his rickety boat. Along with a group of African and Arab migrants, they are risking all they have to cross the stormy straits. Allouache captures brilliantly the desperation and determination of the protagonists as they embark on their fateful mission.

Watch the Trailer

City Date Time Venue
Sydney Sunday 4 July 5pm Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
Canberra Saturday 17 July 4.30pm National Film and Sound Archive, Arc Cinema