Algerian film at Cannes sparks protest

Riot police had to be called in at the Cannes film festival in France Friday because of a large protest against a movie about the Algerian war of independence.

More than 1,000 demonstrators were blocked by police with shields and batons from reaching the venue where Hors-la-Loi (Outside the Law ) was screening on Friday.

French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb’s film concerns three brothers who are expelled from their home by European colonialists and grow up to lead the independence movement from the suburbs of Paris.

France’s far-right National Party and other critics have accused Bouchareb of distorting history.

One of the main issues is the opening scene in which Algerian civilians are killed by French soldiers in the town of Setif in 1945. French nationalists say this incident has been distorted.