Habiba Djahnine is an Algerian film producer of particularly documentary films, curator of international film festivals, writer, essayist and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Life

Djahnine was born in 1968 in Tizi Ouzou. In the nineties she was one of the prominent

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male poi ...

in her country. Her sister was a feminist activist as well and until 1995 president of "Tiɣri n tameṭṭut" (Women in Protest); she was killed by

Muslim fundamentalists Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...

on February 15, 1995, during the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various Is ...

(1991–2002).Prince Claus Fund (June 2012
''Report from the 2012 Prince Claus Awards Committee''
Afrika Spotlight

The civil war divided the feminists into supporters of the

Algerian army french: Armée nationale populaire , image = ANP.png , alt = , caption = People's National Army emblem , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto = ...

, and on the other hand those who opposed the cruelty of the central power. In the second decade of the 21st Century she replied on this era that she is not an activist anymore, however she still considers herself a feminist. Meanwhile, she holds a critical stand to the development of the feminist movement in former days, which she tries to catch in her films frequently.Le Monde (March 15, 2011
''Habiba Djahnine, documentariste dans un pays sans cinéma''
Arab Shorts (2012

/ref> After the civil war many feminists changed their focus to culture. As Djahnine did, who was co-founder of Association Kaïna Cinéma, and in 2007 of Cinéma et Mémoire Association. Next to that she published the volume of poetry ''Outre-Mort'' (''Beyond Death''), wrote humoristic articles for French, and Algerian magazines and wrote a number of short stories. Since 2003 Djahnine is consultant and curator of several international film festivals, like Rencontres Cinématographiques de Béjaïa where fifty to sixty new films are presented annually. It hosts space for the film industry for debate, networking and the exchange of knowledge. Next to this festival, she organized other initiatives like ''Arab Shorts'' for the German

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

. In 2006 Djahnine returned to Algeria, where she looked back to the death of her sister and the political situation of that moment. One question that was occupying her was "''Why was dialogue impossible?''" This question was an important theme in her documentary ''Lettre à ma soeur'' (''Letter to my sister'') that she issued one year later and, like her other productions, was issued outside of Algeria as well. In ''Lettre à ma soeur'' she tries to refute violence to be a solution to social disputes. Her documentaries reveal factual facets of Algeria, its history and the consequences of it on its society. With her own atelier, ''Béjaïa Doc'', she offers film education to young Algerians with attention to all facets of the profession, like film history, production, distribution and film scripting. All students must complete a film on the life in their own community. In 2012 she was honored with a

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually si ...

for her part in reviving Algerian cinema and for "''creating sensitive, challenging and insightful documentaries on contemporary realities.'"

Filmography

A limited selection of her films is the following: *2006: ''Lettre à ma soeur'' (''Letter to my Sister'') *2008: ''Autrement Citoyens'' (''Otherwise Citizens'') *2010: ''Retour à la montagne'' (''Return to the Mountains'') *2011: ''Avant de franchir la ligne d'horizon'' (''Before Passing the Horizon Line'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djahnine, Habiba 1968 births Algerian activists Algerian women activists Algerian feminists Algerian film producers Algerian women film producers Algerian writers Algerian women writers Algerian curators Algerian women curators Algerian documentary filmmakers Living people 21st-century Algerian people