Polish newspaper Krytyka Polityczna has highlighted the FiSahara International Film Festival, held in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, describing the cultural event as having gone beyond entertainment to become a space for expressing the aspirations and rights of the Sahrawi people and a platform for raising international awareness of their cause.
In a report by journalist and international relations researcher Dominik Sipiński, published on July 4, 2026, the newspaper covered the 19th edition of the festival, held in early May in the Ausserd refugee camp.
The report noted that organizing a film festival in a desert environment with very limited resources represents a major challenge. One side of a humanitarian aid container is transformed into a cinema screen, while screenings are held outdoors at night under the desert sky, bringing together Sahrawi refugees and international guests.
According to the newspaper, the latest edition featured 19 films, including short films and productions by the Sahrawi Film School, as well as a special screening space for children.
Cinema as a Tool for Peaceful Struggle
The newspaper quoted Ahmed Mahmoud Mami, director of the Sahrawi Film School, as saying that the importance of the festival goes beyond entertainment, describing it as a tool for peaceful struggle, advocacy for rights, and raising awareness of the Sahrawi cause both locally and internationally.
Mami stressed that culture and cinema have become essential tools for the Sahrawi people to tell their story from their own perspective, emphasizing the importance of enabling Sahrawis to develop their own cinematic tools so that their story does not remain dependent on how others portray or document it.
The report also highlighted the role of the Sahrawi Film School in training young people in screenwriting, production, editing and sound recording, enabling a new generation to document its experiences and express them from within the refugee camps.
Palestine and Western Sahara at the Heart of the Festival
The newspaper reported that the latest edition placed particular emphasis on the Palestinian cause, highlighting what festival organizers see as common elements between the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, while also emphasizing the right of both peoples to return.
The festival brought together Palestinian activists and filmmakers, while the film All That’s Left of You, directed by Cherien Dabis, received the festival’s White Camel Award.
The report noted that the award is not a conventional trophy, but a live white camel, a distinctive feature that sets FiSahara apart from many other international film festivals.
Culture at the Heart of Exile
Krytyka Polityczna also highlighted the difficult conditions faced by Sahrawi refugees, pointing to the harsh desert environment, high temperatures, scarce water resources and continued reliance on humanitarian assistance.
Despite these challenges, festival organizers stress that culture is no less important than basic needs. The report quoted Ahmed Mahmoud Mami as emphasizing that culture is part of life and that without culture there can be no identity, describing culture as a central pillar of Sahrawi existence.
Festival director Maria Carrión, for her part, stressed that Sahrawis have been involved in the festival since its establishment, while international activists and supporters help build a bridge between the refugee camps and the outside world through logistical and financial support and by helping Sahrawi films reach international audiences.
A Cultural Festival Carrying a Message to the World
Although festival organizers, according to the report, seek to prevent politicians from taking control of the event, the newspaper argues that the festival nevertheless carries a political and cultural message closely connected to the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and return to their homeland.
In this context, the newspaper noted that Sahrawi President Brahim Ghali attended the festival's opening ceremony, while Sahrawi Minister of Culture Moussa Salma addressed the event.
The report concluded that the FiSahara Film Festival, which has continued for more than two decades, has become a space where cinema intersects with identity, memory and human rights, providing the Sahrawi people with a means of conveying their voice to the world despite the conditions of exile.
The newspaper also emphasized that the power of cinema lies in its ability to reach places that people themselves may not be able to access. For the Sahrawi organizers, films therefore provide a means of crossing the boundaries of the refugee camps and bringing the Sahrawi people's narrative and aspirations to a wider international audience.
Source: Krytyka Polityczna, report by Dominik Sipiński, July 4, 2026.
Comments