Daniel Ali, a rebellious schoolteacher in colonial Algeria

Synopsis

In 1954, Daniel Vérin, a young schoolteacher of Algerian descent, made a radical decision: he turned his back on colonial France and joined the Algerian insurgents. He enlisted in the FLN, then the ALN, and became "Ali," a soldier in the struggle for independence. At the end of the war in 1962, he became an Algerian citizen. But the long-awaited independence did not bring Ali the taste of victory. On a scholarship, he went to study in the United States. Upon his return, the Algerian administration forbade him from entering his homeland. Rejected by the country he had defended, he obtained American citizenship in 1969. Condemned by France for his activism and ignored by Algeria for more than forty years, Ali was not officially recognized as a mujahid, a fighter of the Revolution, until 2004.

Cast

Daniel Ali Vérin

Self

Patty Vérin

Self

Hélène Vérin

Self

Georges Vérin

Self

Khadidja Mahdi

Self

Malika Rahal

Self

Bénédicte Richard

Narrator

Zohra Djazouli

Self

Abdallah Mihoubi

Self

Djilali Benali

Self