A strong link in Berber culture, singing has passed through generations to establish itself at the head of the gondola of ancestral traditions. In the enormous musical catalog of the Kabylie region, Achewiq’s singing stands out.
Due to the moving messages it conveys, the Achewiq is a special song, because it is sung only by women. Using song to express themselves by giving free rein to their vocal cords, the Algerian women of Kabylia have created a genre in their own right.
For the 2023 edition of the International Documentary Film Festival, FIPADOC, the French director, Elina Kastler, pays tribute to this atypical Kabyle song. Indeed, the director of Algerian origin participates in this festival, in Biarritz, with the documentary film Achewiq – the song of women courage.
Nostalgic for these roots, Elina Kastler said, “My mother is Kabyle, but she was born in France. On the other hand, my grandparents were born in Kabylie and do not speak French. When I discovered this song, I was very moved, because it reminded me of my grandmother,” she said in an interview with Rfi.
Returning to the choice of the title of his documentary film, Kastler said, “The courageous women are Kabyle women. she adds. Born in 1996, the young French director introduces the whole world to a song that gives rhythm and sets the tempo to the daily lives of women in Kabylie.
“Women sang in their daily lives. I realized that this song is still part of everyday life. For the Kabyle woman, singing allows her to expedite her suffering, to recount it, to exteriorize it, to have this land, this place of safety where she can allow herself to say whatever she wants, through song. . she explains.
International Documentary Film Festival: Achwiq, a global message
Asked about the relationship between the Achwiq song and women’s news, the director replied, “In Kabylie, when the woman sings, she is respected, even if she can sometimes say things that do not correspond to traditional society. Within the framework of the song, one authorizes it to say all that it wants. So it becomes really very important for women to sing. “She explains at the microphone of Radio France International.
Elina Kastler, director of the film Achewiq
In line with this explanation, Elina Kastler adds, “My choice to make a film where there are only women, it comes from the song itself, since the Achewiq song is an exclusively female song, which is reserved for women. ” she says.
