FEATURE FILM / 1949

Islam

"Islam" by Georges Régnier (1949) is a documentary about Islamic art in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Spain. The documentary received a special mention at the Venice Film Festival in 1949. Georges Régnier, a French documentary filmmaker active in the post-war period, was interested in North African cultures and colonial issues. In this film, he traces the history of Islam and its architectural art across these regions, and describes the expansion of Islam from Arabia to the Maghreb and Andalusia, highlighting mosques, minarets, and palaces such as those in Kairouan, Algiers, and Marrakech, all accompanied by the sounds of the Arabic call to prayer.