Join Co-editor Lucy McNair and contributor and Festival founder Habiba Boumlik to learn about Amazigh film expression and this first edited collection in English on Indigenous North African Film, an outgrowth of the yearly New York Forum of Amazigh Film/NYFAF.

Amazigh Cinema: An Introduction to North African Indigenous Film examines the emergence and history of Amazigh visual media and actively contributes to decolonizing the study of Amazigh artistic expression. An exploration of film from across the Amazigh homelands produced by and about Imazighen (Indigenous peoples of North Africa historically referred to as “Berbers”), the book underscores the importance of cinema in shaping the contemporary Amazigh identity against a backdrop of historical oppression. The chapters in this volume trace connections between oral performance, amateur video, and feature films produced for global audiences. These works expose a tension between the pull of nostalgia and push for change as filmmakers use their cameras to re-establish a sense of presence in a shifting landscape. Resisting the commodification of traditional Amazigh expression for the viewer, these filmmakers use new tools to craft narratives of Amazigh life and create a space for all audiences to witness Indigenous lives and their strategies—and celebration—of survival.

Habiba Boumlik is a professor in the Education & Language Acquisition department. She teaches French and Arabic language and literature, and Middle Eastern and North African Cinema. Her research interests encompass francophone literatures, North African immigration to France, Moroccan Judaism, and Amazigh identity. She has authored various publications in the fields of literature, education, and social sciences. Her work reflects a deep commitment to exploring various facets of North African culture and history. Professor Boumlik is the founder of the New York Forum of Amazigh Film, which showcases features, documentaries, and shorts by and about Amazigh/Berber people and cultures in North Africa and the diaspora.

Lucy R. McNair is a literary translator of French and Professor of English at LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York. Her translations include the classic Algerian coming-of-age novel, The Poor Man’s Son, by Amazigh writer Mouloud Feraoun, the memoir To Hell and Back by Samira Bellil, plus many critical studies, creative essays, and poems by North African writers. She co-curates the New York Forum of Amazigh Film.