Films To Watch From Tunisian Directors
Tunisia has a long and vibrant history of cinema. Starting in 1922, Samama Chikly made what are widely considered some of the first films to come out of Tunisia: Zohra and Ain El Ghazel starred his daughter Hayde. By the late 40s, Tunisia had a booming film scene. Omar Khlifi’s L’Aube (1967) was the first Tunisian feature film to be released. This came one year after the inaugural edition of the Carthage Film Festival, launched in 1966 to celebrate Arab-language and African film. We’ve gathered a selection of Tunisian films that's not to be missed from across the decades.
Mokhtar (1968)
Sadok Ben Aïcha
“A young novelist scores an unexpected success with his first novel, which surveys the mental state of Tunisian youth in the aftermath of independence. Dismayed by the critical misunderstanding of his themes and intentions, he writes another novel centered on a young female protagonist fighting for emancipation. The second novel becomes an even bigger success, but a distorted cinematic adaptation of his writing propels him to mysteriously disappear.”
Via BFI
Sejnan (1974)
Abdellatif Ben Ammar
"A complex study of the birth of grassroots movements and the formation of political consciousness, Sejnane digs into the psychology of political mobilization in its examination of the parameters of individuality under repressive rule. With remarkable poetic naturalism, Ben Ammar vividly captures the soul of Tunisia’s working class and its unionization – a unique facet of Tunisian political life that has remained a thorn in the side of each successive dictatorship.”
Via BFI
Silence of the Palaces (1994)
Moufida Tlatli
This book contextualizes the current situation in Sudan against the 2019 revolution, mapping its success in toppling Omar Al-Bashir, through to the transitional-governments, ultimately asking, “Where can Sudanese democracy go from here?” The authors give careful insight into the historical, political and social context that crystallized in 2019, highlighting weaknesses that destabilized the Bashir regime as well as the rise of the security sector.
Halfaouine: L’Enfant des Terrasses (1990)
Ferid Boughedir
“In Halfaouine, a Tunis neighborhood, young Noura, finely acted by the director's nephew, is divided between several worlds: that of men in the streets, the women with whom he can still share the hammam (Turkish bath) despite his puberty approaching, and his imagination in which he fears the transition to adult life. Boughedir paints a happy picture of Tunisian life, and illustrates the subtle and complex relationships between men and women in Tunisia. The boy discovers the pleasures of life as his family adopts a teen girl. He tries whenever he has a chance to see her unclothed body. After three or four attempts the boy succeeds.”
Via Wikipedia
Essaida (1996)
Mohamed Zran
“Amine, an artist in Tunis, is in a creative low when he has to prepare for an exhibition of his paintings. In the street he meets teenager Nidal and decides to follow him. Nidal lives in Essaïda, a district where émigrés from the countryside hope for work. Amine manages to persuade Nidal to pose for him. Nidal’s father is an alcoholic and mistreats his son. Amine is disgusted by Nidal’s home surroundings. When he gets home, he decides to start a new life in Essaïda, to capture the mood and the people in color and light. In the meantime, circumstances force Nidal to turn to crime. The film was inspired by the Essaïda district of Tunis, where Mohamed Zran spent five years, having lived in Paris since he was 15.”
Via IFFR
Satin Rouge (2002)
Raja Amari
"After the death of her husband, Lilia's life revolves solely around her teenage daughter, Salma. Whilst looking for Salma late one night, Lilia stumbles upon a belly dance cabaret and though initially reserved and taken aback by the culture of the place, Lilia gets consistently drawn back to it. She befriends one of the belly dancers and is encouraged into dancing for the audience. Lilia also starts a romance with one of the cabaret's musicians, who unbeknown to both of them, is also romancing Salma.”
Via IMDB
Fatma (1976)
Selma Baccar
“University student Fatma goes on a historical, feminist voyage and gathers interviews with iconic women from history. Fatma speaks to aristocratic women from the ancient past and contemporary revolutionaries involved in the struggle for Tunisian independence. Particular focus lies on developments from the 1930s to the 1950s, when Tunisian women were increasingly struggling for emancipation and the controversial Personal Status Law was passed, which aimed at the institutionalized equality of women and men. The innovative style of docu-fiction allows director Selma Baccar to present a fictional narrative element interspersed with actual interview footage, re-enactments of historical circumstances, and archival material. Didactic and instructive in its tone, the film has gained mythical status, certainly aided by its rarity and previous unavailability for screenings due to censorship.”
Via e-Flux
Un été à la Goulette (1996)
Férid Boughedir
“A comedy about tolerance set in 1967. Boughédir, well known for his feature début Halfaouine, wanted to transcend the clichés and prejudices about Islamic society by sketching the exuberance, humor and sensuality of everyday life. In La Goulette, the beach and harbor district of Tunis, different ethnic groups and cultures have lived together for centuries without problems. The Muslim Youssef, the Tunisian-Jewish bread seller Jojo, and the Sicilian Catholic fisherman Giuseppe, are as inseparable as their three 16-year-old daughters. In an adolescent upsurge, the three girls swear they will lose their virginity on August 15, the day of the Holy Mary procession. Even worse, each has a boy of a different faith in mind. At first the fathers break off all contacts, but brotherhood wins in the end.”
Via IFFR
