Bart and Jenna are rarely afraid to dive headfirst into uncharted areas of cinema, but certain movies are just too important for them to toss around in their usual subjective way. Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is one such landmark work that seems irresponsible to discuss without a maximum amount of context. That’s why Cinema60 invited African Studies and Decolonization scholar Christopher J. Lee to the podcast to help them unpack the history and politics of the film and the events that it depicts. In addition, Chris wanted to talk about Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl, another film from 1966 with a very different, but equally harsh, perspective on French colonialism in Africa. The two films, taken together, give a well-rounded visualization of the revolutionary ideas of political philosopher Frantz Fanon, whose thoughts got to the heart much of the social upheaval of the era. Listen as Chris gives a global backdrop to the rebellious spirit that inspired the big changes in the way people governed themselves, and in the way they made movies, in the mid-20th century. The following films are discussed:• The Battle of Algiers (1966) La battaglia di Algeri Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo Starring Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi • Black Girl (1966) La noire de... Directed by Ousmane Sembène Starring Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine Also mentioned: • The Birth of a Nation (1915) Directed by D.W. Griffith Starring Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall • De Voortrekkers (a.k.a. Winning a Continent) (1916) Directed by Harold M. Shaw Starring Dick Cruikshanks, Caroline Frances Cooke, Jackie Turnbull • Rome, Open City (1945) Roma città aperta Directed by Roberto Rossellini Starring Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero • Paisan (1946) Paisà Directed by Roberto Rossellini Starring Carmela Sazio, Gar Moore, William Tubbs • Bicycle Thieves (1948) Ladri di biciclette Directed by Vittorio De Sica Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell • Cry, the Beloved Country (1951) Directed by Zoltan Korda Starring Canada Lee, Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson • Le petit soldat (1961) Directed by Jean-Luc Godard Starring Anna Karina, Michel Subor, Henri-Jacques Huet • Cléo from 5 to 7 (1963) Cléo de 5 à 7 Directed by Agnès Varda Starring Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray • The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Les parapluies de Cherbourg Directed by Jacques Demy Starring Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon • Nanny (2022) Directed by Nikyatu Jusu Starring Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls Books discussed: • The Stranger by Albert Camus (1942) • Prison Notebooks by Antonio Gramchi (1947) • Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon (1952) • God's Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembène (1960) • The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (1961) • Frantz Fanon: Toward A Revolutionary Humanism by Christopher J. Lee (2015)