The square in front of the Sierra Meatra Cinema is Algeria on a small scale. Old and young, rich and poor all go there. They hang around, stroll, trade, but above all, they debate. An ideal workshop for documentary maker Lamine Ammar-Khodja, who in Straight from the Street is looking for the significance of film in Algeria. He only needs to turn on his camera to evoke a flood of memories, arguments and reflections. There are plenty of contradictions: film is tantamount to education for one person, moral turpitude for another. Gradually, the focus is more on politics, generational conflicts, unemployment and the relationship between men and women. Film proves to be the perfect motivation to talk about everything that occupies Algerians these days. And those improvised situations and spontaneous debates become film of their own accord. More than can be seen in the renovated theatre in the background, in any case.
