Martin Evans

Martin Evans is Professor of Modern History at the University of Sussex. He was formerly Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Portsmouth. He is the co-author (with John Phillips) of Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed (Yale University Press: 2007) and the author of Algeria: France’s Undeclared War (Oxford University Press: 2012).

Moroccan political cinema and the Arab Spring: an interview with Hicham Lasri

I was interested by the electricity in the air, the aggression and the disarray of those in power.

By Martin Evans

/ 11 Jun 2014

Moroccan political cinema and the Arab Spring: an interview with Hicham Lasri

I was interested by the electricity in the air, the aggression and the disarray of those in power.

By Martin Evans

/ 11 Jun 2014

The Battle of Algiers: a formative influence on Moroccan cinema

Laying bare the social and economic structures of oppression to reconstruct a national psyche from the ruins – how an idea caught on.

By Martin Evans and Jamal Bahmad

/ 9 Jan 2014

Pontecorvo's Colonel Mathieu: the paratrooper who embodied France

What we see is a three dimensional character who is eloquent and thoughtful in his actions.

By Martin Evans

/ 2 May 2013

First encounters with the Battle of Algiers

On February 6, 2013, the University of Sussex History Department held a special screening of the Battle of Algiers, followed by discussion with Yasmin El Derby from the Middle East and North Africa Film Festival in London. Here are three reactions.

By Martin Evans

/ 16 Mar 2013

Transcending boundaries: Yasmin El Derby on The Battle of Algiers

The festival director of the London Middle East and North Africa Film Festival talks about the place of Pontecorvo’s film within the history of the region’s cinema and about its future.

By Martin Evans

/ 21 Jan 2013

In short: Ken Loach on The Battle of Algiers

On 17 December 2012, Ken Loach summed up the personal significance of The Battle of Algiers for him, in our project situating Algeria’s history, society and politics within the wider context of the Arab world.

By Martin Evans

/ 8 Jan 2013

The Battle of Algiers: historical truth and filmic representation

The bitter divisions within the FLN are ignored. Instead, Gillo Pontecorvo, in his 1966 film, The Battle of Algiers, presents the war uniquely in terms of the FLN against the French paratroopers. We begin a new series exploring the many facets of this remarkable film.

By Martin Evans

/ 18 Dec 2012

A history of Algeria in six objects

Continuing the openDemocracy series marking fifty years of Algerian independence, one of the series editors, Martin Evans, explores Algerian history through six objects. Lecture (6,500 words)

By Martin Evans

/ 7 Dec 2012

The 2012 National Elections: why Algeria remains the exception in North Africa

Large numbers did not vote because they saw the election as a charade. This sentiment was clear in countless blogs and posts on the internet. Again and again Algerians underlined their disgust with the political class, with ‘le pouvoir’

By Martin Evans

/ 11 Jul 2012

Algeria and the Arab Awakening: Pasts, Presents and Futures

We want to open up a public conversation which will situate the country’s history, society and politics within the wider context of the Arab World; one that will be finely attuned to specificities and generalities as we explore what Algerians aspire to for them and their country in the twenty-firs

By Martin Evans and Natalya Vince

/ 25 May 2012

Contextualising contemporary Algeria: June 1965 and October 1988

With the population now standing at just 37 million, the memory of October 1988 refuses to go away. That event encapsulated the gulf between the small political and military clique and the excluded majority, still the defining feature of Algerian politics.

By Martin Evans

/ 25 May 2012