One of the most controversial films shown at the recent Los Angeles Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) was “Stolen,” which had its U.S. premier at the festival. The film tells the story of slavery in the Polisario-governed refugee camps in Algeria.
Polisario (Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro), the nationalist movement fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara from Morocco, has operated out of Tindouf, Algeria, since the 1970s. The refugee camps at Tindouf now house an estimated 100,000 refugees.
The filmmakers, Violeta Ayala and Daniel Fallshaw, initially planned a film about a family reunion involving a black Saharawi family that became separated when some of its members moved into the camps while others remained in the Moroccan-held territories of Western Sahara. While shooting the original story, the filmmakers stumbled upon evidence of slavery in the camps.
The resulting film is an exposé of slavery in Saharawi society featuring interviews with black Saharawis about life in servitude. The compelling, yet heartbreaking, stories unveil the racial and class divisions within an African society that is home to both blacks and Arabs.
The story of black Africans being enslaved by Arab Africans has been told by human rights organizations and journalists working in Sudan and Mauritania, but “Stolen” is the first documentary to deal with the issue in Saharawi society. The film also reveals that slavery is found not only in Polisario-controlled refugee camps but also in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.
The film details the experience of Fatim, a black Saharawi, and her family. Initially one assumes that Fatim is a servant. While the practice of hiring servants is common in many countries, the difference between working as a servant or a slave is often in the treatment and pay. In Fatim’s case, it becomes clear in the film that she and many other black Saharawis are considered slaves.
An important element of the film is the experience of the filmmakers themselves. While documentary filmmakers often do not themselves become part of the film, “Stolen” is different - it features attempts by authorities to confiscate their footage as well as their success in getting it out of North Africa.
Since “Stolen” has been released, the filmmakers say there have been intense efforts to discredit the film. During a discussion after it was shown at PAFF, festival organizers indicated that they had been contacted over their decision to show the film.
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The cut shown at PAFF added footage from the European premiere, including interviews accusing the filmmakers of paying for or coercing black Saharawis to say that they were enslaved. Critics of the production also contend that it was both translated and edited in a way that shows a false image of Saharawi society.
At the very least, “Stolen” exposes a racial hierarchy within Saharawi society - a hierarchy that finds black Saharawis economically and politically oppressed. Individuals interviewed tell of black Saharawis forced to work for Arab Saharawi families. The film notes there are laws prohibiting slavery in the region, although the filmmakers show that local attitudes and customs often prevent enslaved individuals from trying to secure their freedom.
However, the filmmakers’ decision to film portions of conversations without the consent or knowledge of those being filmed does raise ethical questions. Including such scenes - which were not needed to tell the story - in the final cut showed a lack of good judgment.
Nevertheless, the interviews and footage constitute a strong story, as well as justification for more campaigning on the issue. The film elicits a strong emotional response from viewers and deals with serious racial, social and economic divisions in Africa and the controversy it has generated will likely bring attention not only to the film, but also to the issues it film highlights.
