'And still, it remains' is a new film by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah which carries forward their long-term dedication to exploring race and environmental legacies of colonialism.
In this work, they examine the ongoing impact of French toxic colonialism in Mertoutek, a village nestled in the Hoggar Mountains of Algeria’s Southern Sahara and a home to the Escamaran community of Black Algerians. Used as a testing ground for nuclear bombs by the French between 1961 and 1966, the area continues to suffer the consequences of radioactive fallout circulating in the water and soil.
The film examines Mertoutek’s encounter with French nuclear colonialism without restricting the region’s history to a narrow colonial temporality. Juxtaposed with slow meditative shots of the mountains, Escamaran ways of life and ancient rock art, experiences of French nuclear experiments, faith and spirituality are narrated by the voices of multiple residents. Summoning the landscape as a witness and protagonist, And still, it remains reflects on the deep inscription of colonial violence into the landscape’s body and ecology. It also pushes against forms of visual capture that reproduce a colonial gaze while challenging visibility as the currency for political redress.
Winds migrating across the Sahara have recently carried sand containing nuclear remains from the Algerian Sahara back to France, serving as a reminder that the environmental afterlives of colonialism cannot be contained or forgotten. By focussing on the experiences of Mertoutek residents, Aburawa and Shah throw into sharp relief the racial oversight in the ‘end of the world’ discourse by asking what worlds have already ended and what does a life after the end of the world look like? What does intimacy with toxic colonialism afford its survivors and how does it shape their ideas around justice? How does one recover from ongoing violence and how, ultimately, do you carry on?
Awards
Best Short Documentary at Blackstar Film Festival ‘24
Best Short Documentary at PriMed, International Festival of Mediterranean Documentary film ‘24
Best Short Documentary at London Short Film Festival ‘25
Screenings
LUX | UK | 8th of September - 15th of October ’23
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival | July 2023
Framer Framed + If I Can’t Dance | Netherlands | January ’24
CPH:DOX film festival | World Premiere | Denmark | March ‘24
Festival de Cine Africano | Spain | June 2024
Videoex 2024 | Switzerland | May - June 2024
The Mosaic Rooms | London Gallery Exhibition in June 2024
BlackStar Film Festival | North American Premiere |US | August 2024
Dokufest| Kosovo | August 2024
London Short Film Festival | January ‘25
MENA Film Festival | January ‘25
Credits
Directed by Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah
Director of Photography - Turab Shah
Editor - Arwa Aburawa
Sound Design - Sami El-Enany
Re-recording Mixer - Steve Bond
Colourist - Vanessa Aparicio & Glassworks
Title Designer - Nils Crompton & Glassworks
Captions - Eleanor McDowall
Algerian Sahara Guide - Riad Messaoudene
Hoggar Region Guide - Hajj Aflan
Driver - Cherif Maouche
Food and Catering - Amma Zamaki
Location Arabic Translator - Ahmed Abid
Tamahaq Translator - Ibrahim Chamanams
Tamashaq Translator - Moussa Chamanams
Arabic Translator - Zhor Belaid
A special thanks goes to the residents of Mertoutek for their time and generosity including Amghar, Hajj Ali, Hajja Fatima, Kheera, Kulsom, Mariam, Zainab, Hajj Aflan, and Hajj Mohammed Fnufnu. For their support, we’d also like to thank Samia Henni, Jack Rennick Welsh, and Benjamin Cook.
And still, it remains is commissioned by Liverpool Arab Arts Festival.
Supported using funds from Arts Council England and The Elephant Trust.
With thanks to LUX.
