Ben Salama

From the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, independent Algeria provided significant support to anti-colonial movements and revolutionaries worldwide. Successive presidents, Ahmed Ben Bella and then Houari Boumédiène, made Algiers a haven for activists fighting against colonial and racial oppression. Algiers the White became Algiers the Red. The internationalist Che Guevara established his base of operations there for his guerrilla activities in Africa. The African-American leader Eldridge Cleaver made it the international headquarters of the Black Panther Party. During this period, Algiers was known as "The Mecca of Revolutionaries."

Through eyewitness accounts and archival footage, viewers are taken on a journey through the great battles that defined President Gamal Abdel Nasser's life—from dramatic economic development initiatives to his ambitions for creating a unified Arab nation. The film chronicles his inspiring success and tragic failures while also exploring how he inspired generations of global leaders in both politics and activism.

On January 20, 1981, 52 members of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were released after 444 days of captivity. Told by those who lived through it, a crisis that traumatized America and upset the political balance in the Middle East.