The Battle of Algiers, dir. Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria 1966, French and Arabic with English subtitles, 121 min.
Book tickets
Visible Justice, ICA Research Collective in Residence, continues its inquiry into the body as a site of injury and resistance with a screening of The Battle of Algiers (1966). The screening will be introduced by a conversation between art historian Taous Dahmani and film scholar Luca Peretti.
Employing neorealist techniques including documentary-style cinematography, the reconstruction of historical events, and the use of non-professional actors – among them Saadi Yacef, a former FLN leader who portrays a fictionalised version of himself – the film chronicles Algeria’s long struggle for freedom against brutal French colonial control, ultimately achieving independence in 1962.
This screening will be introduced by a conversation between art historian Taous Dahmani, for whom The Battle of Algiers was family viewing, and film scholar Luca Peretti, who has written extensively on its impact. They will reflect on the legacy of a film that won the Golden Lion at the 1966 Venice Film Festival, yet was banned by the French government upon its release and has subsequently been screened by both the Black Panthers and the Pentagon to assess military tactics and the effects of colonial rule on a civilian population.
At its 60th anniversary, The Battle of Algiers remains a testament to revolutionary resistance, guerrilla warfare tactics, and state violence, as well as to the visceral power of film.
This event is part of Visible Justice's ongoing residency, which examines shifting conceptions and sites of justice through urgent conversations around censorship, proscription, abolition, occupation, displacement, and gendered violence. Building on themes developed throughout the residency, the programme asks what it means to bear witness, how more embodied forms of justice might be imagined, and for whom the body is made visible or rendered legible.
Employing neorealist techniques including documentary-style cinematography, the reconstruction of historical events, and the use of non-professional actors – among them Saadi Yacef, a former FLN leader who portrays a fictionalised version of himself – the film chronicles Algeria’s long struggle for freedom against brutal French colonial control, ultimately achieving independence in 1962.
This screening will be introduced by a conversation between art historian Taous Dahmani, for whom The Battle of Algiers was family viewing, and film scholar Luca Peretti, who has written extensively on its impact. They will reflect on the legacy of a film that won the Golden Lion at the 1966 Venice Film Festival, yet was banned by the French government upon its release and has subsequently been screened by both the Black Panthers and the Pentagon to assess military tactics and the effects of colonial rule on a civilian population.
At its 60th anniversary, The Battle of Algiers remains a testament to revolutionary resistance, guerrilla warfare tactics, and state violence, as well as to the visceral power of film.
This event is part of Visible Justice's ongoing residency, which examines shifting conceptions and sites of justice through urgent conversations around censorship, proscription, abolition, occupation, displacement, and gendered violence. Building on themes developed throughout the residency, the programme asks what it means to bear witness, how more embodied forms of justice might be imagined, and for whom the body is made visible or rendered legible.
Bios
Dr Taous Dahmani is a London-based French, British, and Algerian art historian specialising in photography. She has curated both group and solo exhibitions internationally, including the 2022 Louis Roederer Discovery Award at Les Rencontres d’Arles (France) and the 2024 Jaou Photo Biennale in Tunis (Tunisia). Since September 2025, she is Curator at The Photographers’ Gallery (London, UK). Dahmani’s writing has been widely published in photobooks and journals. She edited Shining Lights: Black Women Photographers in 1980s–90s Britain (MACK/Autograph ABP, 2024), Assemblies (2025, FOMU/FW:Books), and Sanlé Sory: Volta Colour (2026, GOST/The Photographers' Gallery).
Luca Peretti works as an assistant professor at the University of Cambridge. He has co-edited volumes on terrorism and cinema, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian cinema and Algeria, and Italian cinema and the former Portuguese colonies, and wrote a book on the history of an unrealised project for an Italian film about the Algerian war. He regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines on a variety of topics, trying to build bridges between the university and the wider culture and political world. He will be convening a conference titled The Battle of Algiers at 60 in Cambridge from 5th - 7th November 2026.
Book tickets
Wed, 16 Sep 2026
Cinema 1
06:30 pm
Ticket information
- All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
- For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Access information
Cinema 1
- Both our Cinemas have step free access from The Mall and are accessible by ramp
- We have 1 wheelchair allocated space with a seat for a companion
- All seats are hard back, have a crushed velvet feel and they do not recline
- These are our seat size dimensions: W 42 x D 45 x H 52
- Arm rest either side of the seat dimensions: L 27 x W 7 x H 20
for the following requirements:
- We have unassigned seating. If you require a specific seat, please reserve this in advance
- Free for visitors where ticket prices are a barrier, please email
The event will start promptly at 6:30pm.
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Taous Dahmani
Luca Peretti
