Set in war–torn Algeria in the 1990s, Barakat! follows two women on the dangerous search for the younger woman's husband, a journalist whose writings resulted in his disappearance.

Both women represent anachronisms in Islamist Algeria: the younger woman is a doctor, the older a nurse with vivid memories of Algeria's fight for independence. Ignoring curfews and the constant threat of ambush by armed militias, the two women challenge the men they encounter to accept them and help them with their search.

Their journey leads them across the picturesque landscapes of Algeria, to a deeper understanding of how their lives were shaped by their country's history.  Djamila Sahraoui is acclaimed for her documentaries on the Algerian civil war, and this is her first feature film.

Propelled by magnetic central performances, this bold film's cry of protest is in its title translation:enough!" - RICHMIX (African Film Festival in London)

Barakat! premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2006, and was selected in many festivals, among which the Rotterdam Film Festival and the London Film Festival.

The film won the wawrds for best first film, best music and best screenplay at the Panafrican Film Festival of Ouagadougou (very prestigious African Film Festival, also known as FESPACO).

The film also won the prize for Best Arab Film at the Dubai International Film Festival.

In an interview that you can read here, the director Djamila Sahraoui explains:

“In my film, from the beginning, I did not want to show imprisoned, subservient women, as one sees so often in Algerian films, nor unrealistic heroines who deny themselves in the name of history. I wanted to portray women who are in motion – and of course this motion influenced the film’s form.

These women make their way in life without ever pitying themselves or arousing the audience’s pity. They move forward despite all obstacles. They move forward, whatever happens. And they never return to the place they set out from.”

Djamila Sahraoui was born in Algeria in 1950, and has lived in France since 1975. After studying literature in Algeria, she studied filmmaking at l’IDHEC in Paris. She made several short films, and was awarded the Villa Médicis Hors les Murs prize in 1997. Barakat! (Enough!) is her first feature film.