Sahara International Film Festival

Sahara International Film Festival
Festival de Cine del Sáhara
الصحراء السينمائي الدولي
Spanish actress Verónica Forqué at FiSahara IV (2007)
LocationSahrawi refugee camps, Tindouf, Algeria
Founded2003 (2003)
AwardsWhite Camel
Websitefisahara.es

The Sahara International Film Festival, also known as FiSahara, is an annual event which takes place in the Sahrawi refugee camps, at the southwest corner of Algeria, near the border with Western Sahara. It is the only film festival in the world held in a refugee camp.[1][2] The first festival was in large part organised by Peruvian film director Javier Corcuera.[3]

For its first three years, FiSahara was held alternately in the Wilaya of Smara, the Wilaya of Ausserd, and the Wilaya of El Aaiún. Since 2007, the festival has been staged in the Wilaya of Dajla. The event is backed by the Polisario Front,[3] but largely organised and funded by donors from Spain, the former colonial power in Western Sahara. The festival has attracted support from Spanish film celebrities, including Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Pedro Almodóvar. Musicians like Fermín Muguruza,[4][5] Manu Chao,[2] Macaco,[6] Iván Ferreiro,[7] El Chojin[8] and Tomasito[9] have performed in concerts during the festival.

FiSahara is billed as an initiative to bring film as an entertainment and cultural form to the thousands of Sahrawis who live in the Algerian desert. It also aims to provide cultural entertainment and educational opportunities to the refugees.

In 2010, a twinning agreement was signed between the FiSahara and the San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival.[10]

White Camel winners

The White Camel (Arabic: الجمل الأبيض) is the festival's top prize, awarded for the best film by election of the spectators.[11] It consists of a white female camel, which is traditionally donated to the refugee family who hosted the actors or director of the winning film during the festival. The winners receive a trophy depicting a white camel and a desert rose.

Edition Winner Original title Director(s) Production country(ies) Ref.
1st
(20–23 November 2003)
 The Living Forest O bosque animado Ángel de la Cruz and Manolo Gómez Spain [12]
2nd
(3–6 March 2005)
 Madame Brouette L'extraordinaire destin de Madame Brouette Moussa Sene Absa Senegal,
France and
Canada 		[13]
3rd
(4–9 April 2006)
 The Story of the Weeping Camel Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni Mongolia and
Germany 		[14]
4th
(10–15 April 2007)
 Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest Azur et Asmar Michel Ocelot France,
Belgium,
Italy and
Spain 		[15]
5th
(15–20 April 2008)
 It's a Free World... Ken Loach United Kingdom,
Italy,
Germany,
Spain,

Poland and
France

[16]
6th
(5–10 May 2009)
 Che: Part Two Steven Soderbergh Spain,

France,
United States and
Germany

[17]
7th
(26 April–2 May 2010)
 The Problem: Testimony of the Sahrawi People El problema. Testimonio del pueblo saharaui Jordi Ferrer and Pablo Vidal Spain [18]
8th
(2–8 May 2011)
 Among Wolves Entrelobos Gerardo Olivares Spain and

Germany

[19]
9th
(1–6 May 2012)
 Sons of the Clouds: The Last Colony Hijos de las nubes: la última colonia Álvaro Longoria Spain [20]
10th
(8–13 October 2013)
 Mayibuye I Milly Moabl South Africa [21]
11th
(29 April–4 May 2014)
 Legna Legna: habla el verso saharaui Juan Ignacio Robles, Bahia Mahmud Awah and Juan Carlos Gimeno Spain and
Western Sahara
 [22]
12th
(28 April–3 May 2015)
 Granito: How to Nail a Dictator Pamela Yates United States [23]
13th
(11–16 October 2016)
 Leyuad: A Trip to the Verses Well Leyuad, un viaje al pozo de los versos Gonzalo Moure, Brahim Chagaf and Inés G. Aparicio Western Sahara and
Spain 		[24]
14th
(2–6 December 2018)
 Soukeina, 4400 Days of Night Soukeina, 4400 días de noche Laura Sipán Spain [25]
15th
(15–20 October 2020)
 Champions Campeones Javier Fesser Spain [26]
16th
(28 November–1 December 2021)
 Toufa توفة Brahim Chagaf Western Sahara [27]
17th
(11–16 October 2022)
 Wanibik: The People Who Live in Front of Their Land وَانِي بِيك Rabah Slimani Algeria [28]
18th
(29 April–5 May 2024)
 200 Meters ٢٠٠ متر Ameen Nayfeh Palestine [29]

Guest country

In some years, the festival has chosen a country to be a guest in the event. In such cases, films from the guest country are screened, and related events take place along with the other acts in the festival.

Year Guest Country
2006  Cuba[30][31]
2009  Algeria[32][33]
2010  South Africa[34][35]
2011  Venezuela[36][37]
2012  Mexico[38][39]
2013  United States[40]
2014  South Africa[41]
2023  Spain[1]
  • "FiSahara, International Film Festival, Festival international de Cine". fisahara.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  • "Objective FiSahara English" (PDF). donostia.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 22 December 2023. The International Sahara Film Festival (FISahara), which began in 2002, is a personal initiative inspired by the President of the State Coordinator of Associated Friends of the Sahara (CEAS), who, without a doubt, discovered how to generate a current of enthusiasm and cohesion among the various active parties within Spanish cinema. 24-page book about the FiSahara festival, with texts by Javier Bardem, Javier Corcuera, Eduardo Galeano, Juan Carlos Izagirre, Paul Laverty, and others.
  • Bollero Real, David. "Sáhara Occidental: La Revolución del Cine o el Cine de la Revolución (translation: West Sahara: Revolution of the Cinema or Cinema of the Revolution)" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  • Simanowitz, Stefan (May 3, 2009). ""The Devil's Garden": Preview of the Sahara Film Festival". prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  • Simanowitz, Stefan; Santaolalla, Isabel. "A Cinematic Refuge in the Desert: The FiSahara Film Festival (from St Andrew's University's Film Festival Yearbook 2011)". scribd.com. Scribd.Inc (digital document library), San Francisco, USA. Retrieved 22 December 2023. During the 1960s, when decolonisation movements were sweeping the world, there was a joke that, after achieving independence, a country had to do three things: design a flag, launch an airline and found a film festival (Rich 1999: 79). Western Sahara has a flag but no airline and, despite a struggle that has lasted over three decades, it has yet to achieve independence. The closest Western Sahara comes to its own film festival is Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara (FISahara) (www.festivalsahara.com), a festival like no other that takes place in a refugee camp in the middle of the desert.

References

  1. ^ a b "FiSahara, International Film Festival, Festival international de Cine". fisahara.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Con la presencia di Javier Bardem. Comienza 'Fisahara 2008', el único festival de cine en un campo de refugiados". El Mundo (in Spanish). Mundinteractivos, S.A. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b Laverty, Paul (March 2004). "First International Sahara Film Festival". Review of African Political Economy. 31 (99): 175–180. Archived from the original on 2004-11-07. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. ^ Me gusta el Sáhara, me gustas tú Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Cine entre las dunas – El País, 23 April 2008 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara (FiSahara) 2009 Radiochango.com (in Spanish)
  6. ^ Macaco actuará en la clausura del VI Festival Internacional de Cine Del Sahara (FiSAHARA) Archived 2013-07-04 at the Wayback Machine Macaco.es, 7 May 2009 (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Ivan Ferreiro corona el desierto El Mundo, 3 May 2010 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ El Chojin en FISAHARA 2011 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Elchojin.net, 12 April 2011 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ El Canijo de Jerez y Tomasito en el Festival de Cine del Sahara Inzona.es, 1 May 2012 (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Objective Fisahara: Twinning between the San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival and the Sahara International Film Festival, seen in pictures and first-hand accounts Deprecated link archived 2013-10-11 at archive.today Donostia.org
  11. ^ Additional festival events Festivalsahara.com
  12. ^ Laverty, Paul (2004). "First International Sahara Film Festival. 20-23 November 2003". Review of African Political Economy. 31 (99): 175–180. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  13. ^ Loewenberg, Samuel (10 March 2005). "And the winner of the camel is..." The Times. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  14. ^ Iñiguez, Fernando (25 April 2006). "El Círculo exhibe hoy las películas del Festival del Sáhara" [The Círculo is showing today the films of the Sahara Festival]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  15. ^ Portinari, Beatriz (20 April 2007). "Cineastas de arena" [Filmmakers of sand]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 July 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  16. ^ Iñiguez, Fernando (21 April 2008). "'En un mundo libre' gana el festival de cine Fisahara" [It's a Free World... wins the FiSahara festival]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  17. ^ Isaacson, Andy (28 July 2009). "A Desert Film Festival Complete With Camels". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
  18. ^ Quílez, Raquel. "Ivan Ferreiro corona el desierto" [Iván Ferreiro crowns the desert]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 December 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  19. ^ de la Hoz, Beatriz (8 May 2011). "La huella de los premios FiSahara" [The impact of the FiSahara awards]. RTVE (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 December 2025. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  20. ^ "El actor Javier Bardem hablará de su documental sobre el Sáhara este jueves en 'En días como hoy' de RNE" [Actor Javier Bardem will talk about his documentary on the Sahara this Thursday on RNE’s ‘En días como hoy’]. RTVE (in Spanish). 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  21. ^ G. Arribas, Alicia (14 October 2013). "El cineasta sudafricano Milly Moabl logra la Camella Blanca del Festival FiSahara con 'Mayibuye'" [South African filmmaker Milly Moabl wins FiSahara's White Camel with Mayibuye]. Noticias de Gipuzkoa (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 February 2026. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  22. ^ "El documental "Legna: habla el verso saharaui", primer premio del FiSahara" [The documentary Legna, first prize at FiSahara]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 4 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  23. ^ McNeish, Hannah (10 May 2015). "Screen of the desert". The Economist. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  24. ^ Lavoix, Camille (30 November 2016). "Fisahara : le festival de Cannes du désert" [FiSahara: Cannes of the desert]. Le Nouvel Obs (in French). Archived from the original on 19 December 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  25. ^ Bellio, Naiara (12 December 2018). "La población saharaui saca adelante su propio festival de cine tras la pérdida de fondos del FiSahara" [The Sahrawi people push ahead with their own film festival following the loss of FiSahara funding]. ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  26. ^ "Ante las adversidades, superación" [In the face of adversity, overcoming]. FiSahara (in Spanish). 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 10 September 2025. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  27. ^ "FiSahara Madrid baja el telón con un millar de asistentes rompiendo el silencio en el Sáhara Occidental" [FiSahara Madrid brings down the curtain with a thousand attendees, breaking the silence on Western Sahara]. FiSahara (in Spanish). 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  28. ^ Bardi, Ariel Sophia (11 September 2025). "The World's Most Remote Film Festival". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 8 December 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  29. ^ Kamali Dehghan, Saeed (16 May 2024). "The art of resistance: desert film festival showcases stories of the Sahrawi people". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 July 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  30. ^ Cuba: país invitado en el III Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara Somosjovenes.cu (in Spanish)
  31. ^ Cuba será el país invitado en el III Festival Internacional de Cine del Sahara Rebelion.org, 13 March 2006 (in Spanish)
  32. ^ Arranca FiSahara 09 FiSahara.blogspot.com.es, 23 March 2009 (in Spanish)
  33. ^ FISAHARA 09 Archived 2014-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Vivir bien es un placer!!! (¡Hola!), 21 April 2009 (in Spanish)
  34. ^ El FCAT con el pueblo saharaui en el FiSahara 2010 Archived 2012-07-08 at the Wayback Machine African Film Festival of Tarifa (in Spanish)
  35. ^ FiSahara, el festival de cine que se celebra en un campamento de refugiados 20 minutos, 12 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  36. ^ Concluye el FiSahara 2011: entre el cine y la reivindicación Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 9 May 2011 (in Spanish)
  37. ^ FiSahara: cine bajo las estrellas ABC, 4 May 2011 (in Spanish)
  38. ^ "No conseguirán atemorizar al FiSahara" Público (EFE), 2 May 2012 (in Spanish)
  39. ^ La delegación de México en el FiSahara afirma su determinación de romper el silencio informativo en el Sáhara Occidental Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine Sahara Press Service, 3 May 2012 (in Spanish)
  40. ^ Decade after: FiSahara achieved international status, confirms Saharawi Culture Minister Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine Sahara Press Service, 10 July 2013
  41. ^ South Africa guest of honor of FiSahara 2014 and Nelson Mandela honored in the occasion SADR Permanent Mission in Ethiopia and African Union, 9 April 2014
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