Last Sunday, the International Cinema Festival (Vues d’Afrique) announced the winners of its fortieth edition, held from April 11 to 21 in Montreal.

The documentary film "La promesse d’Imane" by Canadian-Algerian documentary filmmaker Nadia Zouaoui won two awards.

The first award was a special mention from the jury in the Human Rights category, alongside the film "Le courage en plus," directed by Laurent Chevalier and Billy Tory. The film "Nome" by director Wesana Nahada won the award in this category.

Nadia Zouaoui's film, which premiered at the festival, also won the award for Best Feature Documentary in the "Regards d’ici" category, which competes films produced in Canada and co-productions.

In the same category, the award for short or medium-length film went to "Kasaleo" by director Mingezani Asieh. The jury's special mention was shared by the films "Outside Center" by Canadian-Lebanese Eli Jean Al Tahshi and "Revenge of the Black Best Friend" by Jean Kétikou, Jérôme Crowen, and Tyrone Tomi.

Nadia Zouaoui's film attracted the jury's attention in the Human Rights category because it highlights the struggle of African women, from north to south, for equality.

The jury believes that "some women dedicate and give their lives, fighting for their rights and pushing for a necessary dialogue to include all individuals to create a more just world."

For its part, the jury in the "Regards d’ici" category appreciated that the story told by the documentary film is "very fair, moving, and sensitive; it serves as a tribute to the heroine of the events who, although she is no longer here to express herself, was present with us throughout the viewing."

It is worth noting that the director had previously won an award at this festival in the past.

In 2013, during the twenty-ninth edition, her film "Fear, Anger and Politics" received a special mention from the jury in the Human Rights category.

Upon receiving the award, Nadia Zouaoui said she dedicates it to the spirit of Imane Shiban. The film is about her and her feminist struggle against violence against women with other young women from Algeria, the director's home country.

She mentioned that she had been in touch with her for several years. They talked about the status of women in Algeria and the films made by Nadia Zouaoui.

One day, the young girl asked her to make a film about her, but unfortunately, Imane Shiban passed away at the age of 26 along with her husband and two others due to a gas leak in their home in Algiers.

The tragedy occurred in February 2019, just a few days before the Hirak, the popular pro-democracy movement that ousted former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

At that time, many mourned and expressed sorrow on social media for her death, as she would have certainly participated in the popular movement. She would have also covered it as a journalist for the former online news site (Algérie-Direct) that she collaborated with.

Nadia Zouaoui stated in her speech that she "wanted the voice of [Imane Shiban] to continue to denounce what is happening in my home country. Violence against women exists everywhere. Unfortunately, there are femicides around the world."

But she sees that "the difference is that in our patriarchal and religious cultures, we do not talk about it because it is associated with honor. Therefore, we do not discuss it. Today, in 2024, it is unacceptable for a woman to be killed for the honor of a man."