By Hosni Abdel-Rehim There was a time when east was divided from west by simple geography. History developed, however, and colonialism brought the West into the East. Following the Second World War the process was reversed and millions of people from the old colonies went to rebuild Europe. The downfall of eastern Europe unleashed new waves of people towards the west in search of a promised land. As a result of this unfolding process, two sets of cultures and customs have cohabited, creating a tension which not only reflects itself on the political and social levels, but is encapsulated in all art forms, not least the cinema. Such is the background to movies created by Arab emigrants to the West, mainly from Morocco, Tunis and Algiers. The history of these countries in particular was the site of the attempt by the West to create a "new Europe" in North Africa, a dream which ended with liberation wars and a counter-immigration movement from North Africa to Europe. But to the European collective consciousness "the Arab" is not just an immigrant but a dangerous one since he is also the closest, culturally, to the European. The ways in which the cinema has dealt with these issues relating to joint Arab-European history is to tell Europeans that the problem is in fact a European one, related to culture and democracy. Within this vein, this years' Cairo Film Festival screened two films directed by North African immigrants, namely Algerians. The first movie was Polish Pride directed by Dutch-Algerian Karima Darrida. Although it is Darrida's directorial debut it has already received a great deal of praise in a number of festivals. Polish Pride does not directly portray Arab immigrants, though throughout its course it is informed by the fears and doubts of an Arab immigrant. The plot revolves around a Polish girl who emigrates to Holland in search of work and finds the only opportunity open to her is prostitution. She is beaten by her employer and runs off naked into the countryside where an impoverished Dutch farmer takes her in and looks after her until she is well. She then works with him on his farm, transforming his hitherto lonely life. The immigrant, in Darrida's portrayal, is perceived by the host country as an object of exploitation. Yet immigrants hold the solutions to their own problems, and can overcome the burdens of alienation. Indeed, the farmer's life only became a happy one because he accepted the "other", accepted to learn from him and teach him. The message, then, can be reduced to a simple formula -- the old Europe needs new blood in order to live. The second film, Bourlem Gheojou's Living in Paradise, was awarded the gold medal at last year's Carthage Film Festival. The movie focusses on an Algerian worker living in the shanty town of Bedouin Ville in the suburb of Nanterre who brings his wife and children to share this new Eden where they finally find a shack without electricity or water. This is 1961 and the FLN is at the height of its campaign to collect money and organise the immigrants. Once the liberation of Algiers is realised and the return of such migrant workers becomes possible, the workers find themselves torn between staying and trying to improve their lives in France or returning to a torn country. It is a story not just about immigrants, but Algerians who refuse the French colonisation of their country. They win their battle in their country but stay in France in search of work and a better life. This tension between refusing cultural integration and striving for economic integration is the thread that dominates the film. The message from both Algerian productions at this year's festival is very much the same -- that we the oppressed must learn to forgive.
