In collaboration with the Alliance Française on the 7th edition of their Let’s French . . . music festival, the IFI presents two films which merge the past and present to striking effect. 

A chance encounter with an elderly salesman led to director Safinez Bousbia’s exploration of Chaâbi, a form of Algerian music once played by Muslims and Jews alike, but now fallen out of popularity. Tracing many of the surviving exponents of the art, Bousbia reunited them for their first public performance in decades. With echoes of The Buena Vista Social Club, this is a heart-warming film, filled with intoxicating music. 

The film will be introduced by director Safinez Bousbia who will take part in a Q&A following the screening.