Indigenous Voices in World Arts and Cultural Expressions – serie

The first English-language analysis of Amazigh filmAmazigh Cinema: An Introduction to North African Indigenous Film examines the emergence and history of Amazigh visual media and actively contributes to decolonizing the study of Amazigh artistic expression. An exploration of film from across the Amazigh homelands produced by and about Imazighen (Indigenous peoples of North Africa historically referred to as “Berbers”), the book underscores the importance of cinema in shaping the contemporary Amazigh identity against a backdrop of historical oppression. The chapters in this volume trace connections between oral performance, amateur video, and feature films produced for global audiences. These works expose a tension between the pull of nostalgia and push for change as filmmakers use their cameras to re-establish a sense of presence in a shifting landscape. Resisting the commodification of traditional Amazigh expression for the viewer, these filmmakers use new tools to craft narratives of Amazigh life and create a space for all audiences to witness Indigenous lives and their strategies—and celebration—of survival.

ONE OF THE HILL TIMES TOP BOOKS OF 2025Turning a lens on the dark legacy of colonialism in horror film, from Scream to Halloween and beyond Horror films, more than any other genre, offer a chilling glimpse—like peering through a creaky attic door—into the brutality of settler colonial violence. While Indigenous peoples continue to struggle against colonization, white settler narratives consistently position them as a threat, depicting the Indigenous Other as an ever-present menace, lurking on the fringes of “civilized” society. Indigenous inclusion or exclusion in horror films tells a larger story about myths, fears, and anxieties that have endured for centuries.Bloodied Bodies, Bloody Landscapes traces connections between Indigenous representations, gender, and sexuality within iconic horror classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th. The savage killer, the romantic and doomed Indian, the feral “mad woman”—no trope or archetype escapes the shadowy influence of settler colonialism. In the end, horror both disrupts and uncovers colonial violence—only to bury its victims once more.

The first English-language analysis of Amazigh filmAmazigh Cinema: An Introduction to North African Indigenous Film examines the emergence and history of Amazigh visual media and actively contributes to decolonizing the study of Amazigh artistic expression. An exploration of film from across the Amazigh homelands produced by and about Imazighen (Indigenous peoples of North Africa historically referred to as “Berbers”), the book underscores the importance of cinema in shaping the contemporary Amazigh identity against a backdrop of historical oppression. The chapters in this volume trace connections between oral performance, amateur video, and feature films produced for global audiences. These works expose a tension between the pull of nostalgia and push for change as filmmakers use their cameras to re-establish a sense of presence in a shifting landscape. Resisting the commodification of traditional Amazigh expression for the viewer, these filmmakers use new tools to craft narratives of Amazigh life and create a space for all audiences to witness Indigenous lives and their strategies—and celebration—of survival.