ALI IN WONDERLAND
(ALI AU PAYS DES MIRAGES)
dirs. Djouhra Abouda and Alain Bonnamy, 1976
59 mins. Algeria/France.
In French and Arabic with English subtitles.
4K RESTORATION - NYC PREMIERE!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19 – 10 PM
MONDAY, AUGUST 22 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, AUGUST 27 – 5 PM

Miraculously blending styles of militant polemical and experimental essay filmmaking, ALI IN WONDERLAND speaks to the struggle of Maghrebi workers in Paris in the 1970s. Djouhra Abouda and Alain Bonnamy made the film in their twenties, as participants of the Centre Universitaire de Vincennes - a leftist cinema collective formed in the aftermath of the May 1968 uprisings. Fully living up to their stated intention to imbue images "like blows of the fist" upon the film's viewers, Abouda and Bonnamy paint a visceral and unforgettable portrait of migrant exploitation as it manifests (whether in history or today) in western urban capitals - essential viewing alongside Spectacle favorites like Sidney Sokhona's NATIONALITE: IMMIGRE and Madubuko Diakite's THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE.

Formally playful yet ferociously political, ALI IN WONDERLAND is among the most important Francophone films of the (increasingly so-called) postcolonial era, yet has been unavailable to see for decades. Following streaming engagements organized by our friends at Another Gaze and ArteEast in 2021, Spectacle is thrilled to host the New York City premiere of ALI IN WONDERLAND's new 4K restoration, based on original negatives and a 16mm exhibition copy, supervised by Léa Morin at Image Retrouvée in collaboration with the filmmakers.