The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, said on Sunday that Algeria had embarked on a pioneering development dynamic, and that it was time for culture to be its crowning glory, expressing his support for any proposal to set up an elected national body to manage the cinema.
“Algeria has embarked on a pioneering development dynamic, and it's time for culture to be its crowning glory”, declared the President of the Republic in a speech delivered at the opening of the National Conference on Cinema at the Abdelatif-Rahal International Conference Center (CIC, Algiers).
“We have no objection to you setting up an elected national body to manage the film industry, and you are free to make whatever recommendations you wish at the end of the national conference,” he told the various players in the industry.
On this occasion, the President of the Republic reassured cinema professionals that the problem of financing their artistic projects in foreign or national currency would be resolved, asserting that they had “absolute freedom in their artistic creations, with the exception of anything detrimental to Algeria”.
“We are ready to finance training programs in professions linked to the film industry, both at home and abroad”, continued the President of the Republic.
In the same context, the President of the Republic paid tribute to the “rich history of Algerian cinema”, which “emanates,” he said, “from the revolutionary will of November. “The film industry in Algeria will develop and draw its influence from the foundations of the country of resistance”, he stressed.
He also pointed out that “there are those who are looking for multiple ways to deal with Algeria, to whom we say: you don't know Algeria, all it needs is Allah and its children”.
The President of the Republic said that the conference “reflects the interest we take in culture, first and foremost, and in audiovisual activity, as one of its vectors, as well as in the expectations of creators and intellectuals in the film industry”.
The President of the Republic added that he attaches “particular importance” to the film industry, which “must regain its lustre and build on the capital achieved by a pioneering generation of 7th art craftsmen in the 1970s”.
The President of the Republic also called on the various players taking part in the conference “to define the future of Algerian cinema, through innovative ideas and visions that will make this industry a cultural mirror reflecting the Algerian personality and national identity”.
