1 - The Camera Has Emotions: Unyielding Algeria (1963) and Sino-African Solidarity

In the early 1960s, China, a recently founded socialist state, established reciprocal relationships with newly independent nations in Africa, inspired by the Bandung spirit and shared anti-colonial struggles. These collaborations encompassed agriculture, industry, infrastructure, healthcare, and cultural exchanges. Documentaries and newsreels produced by Xinying (Central Studio of Newsreel Production) played a vital role documenting Third World solidarity, serving as instruments for people’s diplomacy. Between 1960 and 1976, Xinying produced over 100 films, including the Chinese-Somalian coproduction The Horn of Africa (1961), Traveling in Ghana (1961), Visiting Guinea (1961), Unyielding Algeria (1963), and Premier Zhou Enlai visits West Africa (Ghana, Mali, Guinea, 1964). This significant Sino-African legacy, predating the rise of television news in China in the 1980s, remains largely overlooked in contemporary scholarship.

        This paper examines Unyielding Algeria, a documentary that won the top award at the 1963 African International Film Festival in Somalia. Produced during Algeria’s transition to independence, the documentary supports the anti-colonial armed struggle. Chinese filmmakers Liu Deyuan and Feng Shichang, the first foreign journalists permitted by the Algerian government, spent a year filming in cities and rural areas. The film employs flashbacks, voice-over narration, and montage to critique French colonial exploitation while celebrating Algerians’ fight for liberation and reconstruction. Rejecting neutrality, the film blends artistic expression with political advocacy, offering a compassionate portrayal of the struggle. This paper underscores how Unyielding Algeria contributes to Third World radical documentary traditions and exemplifies transnational film collaborations that transcend profit motives, supported by public-owned studios and anti-colonial solidarity networks.