Ali in Wonderland, Djouhra Abouda and Alain Bonnamy

Synopsis: Ali in Wonderland is a radical, experimental, and politically astute essay on the condition of Maghrebi immigrant workers in France in the 1970s. Recently digitized and restored in 4k by l’Image Retrouvée from the original 16mm negatives and an exhibition print, the film’s images were (in the words of its filmmakers) “filmed like blows of the fist” against the system of exploitation and domination under which immigrant workers suffered. Abouda and Bonnamy’s film, with remarkable kinetic images and editing and a soundtrack by Algerian musician Djamel Allam, was made under the auspices of the Centre Universitaire de Vincennes, a leftist experimental educational institution formed after May 1968, and has been seldom seen outside alternative cinema networks. ArteEast’s screening of the film marks its US premiere and offers a dialogue with the curator and researcher who initiated its restoration, Léa Morin.

Bio: Djouhra Abouda was born in Algeria in 1949 and educated in France. With Alain Bonnamy, she directed two experimental shorts: Algérie Couleurs (1972) and Ciné-Cité (1974). Their third film, Ali in Wonderland, was made under the auspices of the Centre Universitaire de Vincennes. After this film, both directors moved away from cinema towards other artistic modes of expression. Doujra Abouda is now recognized by the name Djura, after founding the Kabyle-language musical group DjurDjura in 1979. Alain Bonnamy is an architect and photographer.