The Cinematheque

“What emerges is the strong link between imperial violence, psychological trauma, and mental illness … A compelling study of a rarely portrayed figure, and of the dehumanization inflicted by French colonial psychiatry.”

Phuong Le, The Guardian

Frantz Fanon, one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century, is most celebrated for his postcolonial philosophy. But Fanon was also a trained psychiatrist, an experience that deeply informed his worldview. Set in the 1950s, when Algeria was under French rule, Abdenour Zahzah’s film depicts a young Fanon (Alexandre Desane) recently appointed head physician at the Blida-Joinville Hospital. Witnessing racism and cruelty towards patients, particularly Muslims, Fanon advocates for more humane treatment and sets up a café, a newspaper for patients, and community sports. Outside hospital walls, the Algerian War of Independence develops, highlighting both micro and macro tides of revolutionary change. Shot in crisp monochrome on location at the hospital where Fanon worked in Blida, the film is based on archival records including Fanon’s hospital diaries, providing a singular dramatization of his short time as a practicing physician.

In French and Arabic with English subtitles

Post-screening discussion with Dr. Harry Karlinsky, series director.