Khamsa- The Well of Oblivion Soon In Algerian Theaters

After two years of the official trailer, the animated film Khamsa—The Well of Oblivion was expected in cinemas on July 12th. Yet the movie team declared on Wednesday its postponement for a better watching experience. The Algerian animated feature, directed by Vynom and produced by D-Clik Production, has received an 8.7/10 rating on IMBd, in addition to winning the Best Art Direction Award at the Animatiba International Animation Festival in Brazil, as well as the “Kabuku” award at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival 2023 NIAFF (Japan). Moreover, besides the high-quality animation, the presence of the Tarkane family added a sense of nostalgia among Arab youth.

The animation industry has proven its efficiency as a soft power for decades in western media, starting from the Japanese manga comic books and anime to the American Disney and Marvel characters. The former has become a salient part of the Japanese modern culture, building up a gigantic global fanbase attracted to the Japanese traditions, lifestyle, as well as language, turning the country into a touristic magnet for people from different backgrounds. The latter, however, has been more explicit in exporting a patriotic image of the United States, in other words, a superhero wearing the American flag colours who saves the world from evil. These characters are etched in memory, and their films remain lucrative and political in the core. The Marvel Zionist character Sabra, for instance, whose name alone is a symbol of the carnage committed against Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps (1982).

Another Arab step towards the industry is the Saudi animated film “The Journey” (2021), which showcases an overall Arab determination to join the promising field of digital art and thus provide opportunities for innovative minds to represent their cultural identity in a creative way.