Banned by France upon its release in 1966, winner of the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival, and screened by military brass at the Pentagon in 2004, "The Battle of Algiers" is widely considered a masterpiece in film history for its stunning and evocative portrayal of the Algerian resistance to French colonialism. In a post-9/11 climate, the film has generated tremendous interest and debate as the "War on Terror" rages.

Saadi Yacef, the man who produced and acted in the film, wrote the memoir ("Souvenirs of the Battle of Algiers") upon which the film was based, and was the military commander of the FLN in Algiers during the resistance, will participate in a discussion along with UC Irvine Film and Media Studies Professor Sohail Daulatzai about the history and significance of the film, and also its contemporary relevance in a post-9/11 world.

Saadi Yacef is the producer on several films, including "Lo Straniero," Luchino Visconti's adaptation of Albert Camus' novel "The Stranger" and is the author of a three volume set entitled "Urban Guerilla Warfare." He is currently a senator in the Algerian People's National Assembly and continues to tour the schools of Algeria to educate young people on the history of the Algerian independence struggle.

Sohail Daulatzai is an Assistant Professor in Film and Media Studies and African American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of the forthcoming "Black Star, Crescent Moon: The Muslim International and Black Freedom Beyond America" as well as the co-editor (with Michael Eric Dyson) of "Born To Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic."

Cost : Free and Open to the Public

www.international.ucla.edu/cmes

Sponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies, French and Francophone Studies, Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics, Department of Film, Television and Digital Media