Franco-Algerian helmer
Rachid Bouchareb helped change French law with his 2006 pic "Days of Glory," a powerful tribute to the forgotten contributions of Arab and African soldiers to the liberation of France from the Nazis.
So where does he stand on the spat between two U.S. helmers?
Spike Lee accused
Clint Eastwood of ignoring black soldiers in his two "Iwo Jima" pics, but Eastwood has said although there
were black soldiers on Iwo Jima, they were not involved in the raising of the flag, which was the story he wanted to tell.
Ever the diplomat, Bouchareb says, "I adore both their films. Clint is a real gentleman and I feel very close to Spike and his films."
Bouchareb is glad the debate over the historical accuracy of many Western war films is being raised.
"There were 250,000 Algerian soldiers fighting for France in 1943 against the Germans, but you never see this in any of the films," Bouchareb tells
Variety during a break from filming "London River," a drama about the 2005 London terror attacks.
"It's the same with the African-American soldiers. Why did you never see any of them descending from the boats on Normandy? This problem remains the same with many films today. We're challenging the official history."
"Days of Glory" brought in more than 3 million admissions last year and convinced then-French prexy
Jacques Chirac to end decades of injustice by upping pensions for war vets of North African origin to the same levels as French vets.
Bouchareb is prepping "Outside the Law," which he will start filming in February. It takes the "Days" story forward to the Algerian battles in Paris for independence from France in the wake of WWII.
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