He was the first Arab filmmaker to be awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and – until last Friday, 23rd May – the oldest living Palme d'Or winner: the trailblazing Algerian filmmaker Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, who won the Palme in 1975 for his Fanonian epic about the Algerian national movement and its resistance to French colonization, Chronique des années de braise (Ahdat Sanawovach El-Djamr/Chronicle of the Years of Fire).
In 2016, at the age of 82, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina came to the 3rd edition of the Arab Film Festival Zurich and presented his last film, Crepsucule des ombres (Twilight of Shadows, 2015), which took a much more intimate look at the war between Algerian rebels and the French occupation. It was to be his last visit to a festival. We are proud that he honoured us with his presence. He will be missed.
