“Since 2011, one of the most tangible benefits we’ve seen is
the ability to talk about all topics, especially themes of
society, our daily life, its complexity and its richness,” said
producer Habib Attia.
Just two or three films a year were released during the 2000s,
but the industry has rebounded since 2011.
Undoubtedly inspired by post-revolutionary social changes,
Tunisian filmmakers shared their concerns and personal
perspectives in films and documentaries with a political
message.
Between 2011 and 2018 at least 4 films were devoted to
religious radicalization and too many other subjects
concerning the position of women, the struggles of youth,
and the evolution of relations between parents and children
in Tunisian society.
But in 2017 and 2018 claiming that they were bored of the
often painful realistic stories that they often created, Tunisian
filmmakers became thirsty for different genres of films and
the public responded well.
Since then, local cinemas have sprung up, and the number of
production companies has grown rapidly, film and
documentary makers have quickly invaded the new public
space, created by the hard-won right to freedom of
expression.
A variety of documentaries and films have become possible
now that people are no longer afraid to speak up.
The authors "are no longer obliged to bypass with unsaid
words and metaphors" the red lines long established by the
regime, believes the thirty-year-old director Mehdi Barsaoui.
He himself is currently shooting his first film in Tunisian
studios and in the south of the country on organ trafficking
between Libya and Tunisia in the chaos of the postrevolution, with French actor Sami Bouajila.
Among the Tunisian films that have had international
recognition, we can cite "Hedi" by the filmmaker Mohamed
Ben Attia (2 prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival in
2016)."La voie normale" by the filmmaker Erige Séhiri in
2019, a documentary on the National Railways Company
(SNCFT)
In 2018, Tunisia opened "La Factory", as part of the Cannes
festival, with the aim of encouraging young directors from all
over the world, and promoting local films. In the same year,
Tunis hosted the "Mawjoudin Queer" film festival, the first of
its kind in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region, an
initiative to promote gay rights in Tunisia, which still remain
controversial and criminalized.
But nevertheless Tunisian filmmakers have managed to
develop their industry by introducing new genres,
technologies and ideas. Two prime examples of the invention
and innovation occurring in the country's cinema are
Abdelhamid Bouchnak's Dachra (2018) and Ala Eddine Slim's
Tlamess (2019). Dachra is the country's first horror film and
has ushered in a forthcoming wave of genre filmmaking in the
country, with its employment of horror tropes to criticize the
dominance of religion showing off a new means of expression
for filmmakers to get around censorship. Meanwhile, using a
highly distinctive form of surrealism, Tlamess touches upon
militarism, ascribed gender roles while giving Arab cinema its
very first scene of full-frontal nudity.
"We have a rough diamond, but we still have to cut it: there is
a lot to do to support this film production," said Kaïs Zaied,
one of the young co-founders of Hakka, launched in 2013.
Pathé Gaumont plans to open an 8-screen multiplex in Tunis
soon, and has another project in Sousse. Old cinémas are
being renovated.
But there is still a long way to go, as Hakka co-founder Amal
Saadallah estimates Tunisia needs at least 100 cinemas to
create a strong industry.