History

THE OTHER MAY 8TH, 1945

Every May 8th we celebrate the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. But in Algeria, a French colony during World War Two, May 8th is a day of mourning. Carried away by the jubilation of victory, the Algerians dared ask for independence. The French colonial army responded with gunfire, setting off horrifically bloody clashes between Muslims and Europeans. The crackdown would last nearly 3 months and leave thousands Muslims dead. Mixing never-before-seen footage and personal accounts, our film raises the veil on the mechanisms and consequences of this violent colonial crackdown.