Gillo Pontecorvo (1919-2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 70s. Born into a Jewish family in Pisa, he fled fascist Italy in 1938, later led a Resistance brigade in WWII, and turned to filmmaking after the war. His 1966 masterpiece The Battle of Algiers - shot entirely without newsreel footage yet indistinguishable from documentary - won the Golden Lion at Venice and earned three Academy Award nominations, cementing his place as one of the defining voices of anti-colonial cinema.
The new 4K restoration of The Battle of Algiers had a sold-out screening at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).
London's Close-Up Film Centre included The Battle of Algiers in the program of the Histoires du cinéma series (May 4-12, 2024).
Criterion Collection released a new Blu-ray edition of The Battle of Algiers (2024).
Yale University included The Battle of Algiers in the Art & Protest series with a screening of a 35mm print from the film archive.
