Fri May 25 | 4:30 pm | VIFC

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Directors: Malcolm Guy & Eylem Kaftan, Canada, 2006, 53 minutes
French with English subtitles

Filmmaker in attendance; discussion to follow.

In the early 1990s, 40,000 Algerians fleeing their war-ravaged homeland arrived in Montreal, Quebec. Despite repeated attempts, many of them were denied refugee status and were unable to study or work under normal conditions. The years went by; they began to raise families and to consider Canada their home. But everything changed for them after 9/11, when the Canadian government began deportations to the U.S. The “non-status Algerians” responded by organizing demonstrations and fighting to be allowed to stay in Canada.

The filmmakers followed the central players involved in this fight for 2 years, in particular chronicling the story of the spokesperson for the Algerians, Mohamed Cherfi. A high profile activist, Cherfi was eventually ordered to leave Canada and sought sanctuary in a Quebec City church. For the first time in history Canada’s tradition of sanctuary was violated when police stormed the church and Cherfi was arrested, forcibly removed and eventually taken to a U.S. jail.

Ultimately this film raises crucial questions about Canada’s refugee policies and, in particular, its treatment of Muslims and Arabs in the post-9/11 world.

Post–film discussion forum participants:

Malcolm Guy
The director of Bledi, This is our Home, Malcolm Guy is a Montreal-based director/producer of documentaries and fiction films and is President and co-founder of Productions Multi-Monde. He has co-directed the feature-length documentaries Rebel Music Americas, Turbulent Waters, Pressure Point: Inside the Montreal Blockade and The Suit War. Malcolm has produced several award-winning films, is active in the independent film community and sits on a number of Boards of Directors.

Mohamed Chelali
The President of the Algerian Canadian Association of BC, Moh Chelali was born in 1956 in Ouled-Djella in the South of Algeria. He holds an Engineering degree in oil economics, a Master of International Business from University IX of Paris, a Bachelor of education from UBC and a Masters of education from the University of Phoenix.
Chelali immigrated from France to Canada in 1992 and is a founding member of the Francophone Teachers' Association and the Secretary of the Francophone parents association of B.C. He currently teaches International Baccalaureate French att R.E Mountain Secondary School in Langley.
Moh Chelali is known internationally for risking his life to help abort an assassination attempt on the French president, Jacques Chirac from a right wing Neo Nazi activist during the Bastille Day parade on July 14, 2002.
Moh Chelali is the recipient of many national and international awards, among them the Governor General’s Medal of Bravery; the Knight of the French Legion of Honour, awarded to him by the French Government; the medal of the French TV TF1, the Medal of the City of Beirut and the medal of the city of Roubaix (France).

Frances MacQueen
Frances MacQueen is the coordinator of the Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST), a non-profit organization founded in 1986. VAST is a community of concern to encourage and promote the well being of people who have survived torture and political violence and support their families. MacQueen was one of a group of people active with Amnesty International in the mid-1980's, who saw the pressing need for an organization to provide direct counseling and services to the victims of torture.

Lesley Stalker, The chairperson of the Refugees Lawyers Group in Vancouver, will be the moderator of the discussion.

Community Partner

Algerian Canadian Association
of British Columbia