Algerian filmmaker and AEP collaborate on documentary about Elkader

By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register

If you walked up and down Main Street during an afternoon a few weeks ago, you might’ve come across someone with video equipment and headphones, singing delightful Algerian tunes and comically mispronouncing Elkader to such a degree that hilarity ensued when it was brought up during an interview.

It was a moment when humor broke down cultural and language barriers between Yassine, a documentary producer for Aures TV in Algeria, and myself. Yassine, whose work has been featured in National Geographic, was here at the request of a director at the news station, who was inspired by Emir Abdelkader and had heard about Elkader. This prompted interest in furthering the cultural exchange, engaging with Abdelkader Education Project (AEP) and AEP co-founder and executive director Kathy Garms, learning about the city and its history and, of course, becoming the first channel in Algeria to produce a documentary about Elkader.

Yassine’s interests in the project were similar to that of his director: the exploration of cultural commonalities, as well as creating an informative documentary to educate people in Algeria about Elkader and spotlight the Sister City program. 

As to what the cultural similarities are, once Garms broke through the language barrier and after Yassine finished gushing about the Jailhouse Inn and the views from the Keystone Bridge, he spoke about the art community that is prevalent in the city, including murals in the alleys and The Collective. 

Then conversation veered toward the history of both locations, before focusing on the connections between the people. Garms, who has visited Algeria several times, and Yassine brought up the kindness of both cultures and how welcoming they are. Connected through a culture of behavior that promotes community.

For Yassine, who is from Algeria and had never set foot in the Midwest, getting to Elkader wasn’t as easy as hopping on a plane and landing in Des Moines. Initial conversations started last year because Yassine wanted to come in the fall, but visa issues prevented it.

He eventually made his way to the United States, where he left his camera bag on the bus from Chicago to Davenport, only realizing it when Garms picked him up in Dubuque. The comedy of errors required a second trip to Dubuque the following day, but Yassine had his camera bag, while learning a valuable travel lesson and having an experience to remember.

The involvement of Garms, who Yassine referred to as his “right arm,” assisted the entire project, from picking him up and mapping out a schedule of interviews and location visits over his nearly two-week visits at the end of April. Yassine spent this time attempting to “build bridges between Algeria and Elkader” and share ideas between cultures.

While he was here, Yassine’s main objective was creating a documentary that would educate those back home. He also learned Elkader is more historical and, interestingly, bigger than he expected, but still small enough that, sometimes, you need to travel out of town for something or spend a couple clicks on Amazon. 

Yassine wanted to see the city, take photos, record interviews and document Elkader, so his director created a list of places and people by going to the city website, then Garms set up the actual itinerary and interviews.

Among the places on the list were the Keystone Bridge, Founders’ Park, Mascara Park, Rural Heritage Center, Earthmoving Legacy Center, Elkader Opera House and all of the historic Davis, Price, Stemmer and Schmidt houses, which provided Yassine with some inspiration and were among his favorite locations to visit. He also enjoyed the Carter House and the river walk, all of which fueled his “big imagination. 

Yassine interviewed several prominent people in the community to get a sense of what they do and how they support and promote the community. One of those interviewed was Elkader Area Chamber of Commerce Board President Amanda Schneider, who spoke with Yassine about what the chamber does and the future vision for the organization. Schneider found the interview an “enjoyable experience,” expressing support for the project and the potential benefits it could yield for Elkader.

“I believe this project is beneficial to Elkader as it will provide more visibility for our community, both domestically and overseas. During my interview, I made several mentions of the phrase ‘strength in numbers’...Elkader is a strong community because of the consistent and unified work that the non-profit organizations, businesses and general community members do year after year,” she said.

Another interviewee was city administrator Jennifer Cowsert, who talked about the history of Elkader, how the town was named and AEP. In Cowsert’s perspective, the documentary is beneficial because “it strengthens our international relationship. With that, we hope for better relations, friendships and we hope for economic development opportunities. Any time people hear about Elkader is a good thing.”

Perhaps Yassine’s favorite interview, at least the one that left the biggest impression, was with Tom Chandler—more specifically his car collection—which Yassine was mesmerized by.

“He inspired me with his car collection,” Yassine said.

Yassine enjoyed his time with Kay Moser and David Beck, producing a few fun moments in the process. Overall, he found the interviews to be friendly encounters and the amount of information shared will help create a “rich documentary” and allow him to “produce something special.”

Yassine was undecided on the structure of the documentary during an interview, but the expectation is that it will consist of four to six segments, ranging in length from 30 to 45 minute per segment. The documentary is likely to be released in the next few weeks, and when it is, will be shared on AEP’s social media.