A committed cinema
Although the beginnings of Tunisian cinema date back to 1908, with the inauguration of the first screening room, the first Tunisian film, Zohra, was not made until 1922, by Samama Chickly. Then came Omar Khlifi and young directors committed to the social and colonial struggle, such as Abdellatif Ben Ammar with Une si simple histoire (1970), Sejnane (1974), Aziza (1980) and Naceur Ktari, Brahim Babai and Mahamoud Ben Mahmoud. This was followed by complex films analyzing social problems linked to the country's fundamental structures, such as Nouri Bouzid's conscience-shattering L'Homme de cendres (1986) and Les Sabots en or (1988). In 1990, Le Halfaouine, directed by Férid Boughdir, was the first international success. Women directors occupy an important place in Tunisia, as they do throughout Arab cinema. Moufida Tlatli(La Saison des Hommes, Les Silences du palais, La Saison des Djerbiennes) and Nadia el Fani(Tanitez-moi) top the list. The early 2000s saw the rise of actress Latifa Arfaoui (seen in Silence... on tourne), as well as directors such as Khaled Ghorbal, Nidhal Ghatta and Nacer Khemir, who directed Bab'Aziz, le prince qui contemplait son âme (2005), selected in official competition at the 2006 Carthage Film Festival. Other films from this period include Fleur d'oubli (2006, Selma Baccar) Tendresse du loup (2007, Jilani Saadi) and L'autre moitié du ciel (2008, Kalthoum Bornaz).
From the revolution to our days
The 2011 revolution inspired numerous films and documentaries, including Plus jamais peur (2011) by Mourad Ben Cheikh, Bastardo (2013) by Nejib Belkadhi, Je ne meurs jamais by Nouri Bouzid (2012), Dégage by Mohamed Zran (2012), C'était mieux demain by Hinde Boudjemaa (2012) and Maudit soit le phosphate by Sami Tlili, also in 2012. This new freedom of expression acquired since the revolution has not been to everyone's taste, and some films have been controversial or censored, such as Nouri Bouzid's Making of (2006), which deals with the excesses of Islam.
Many of the fiction films released in the 2010s, such as Parfum de printemps (Ferid Boughir, 2014) and A peine j'ouvre les yeux (Leyla Bouzid, 2015), tell the story of contemporary Tunisia, often against the backdrop of the 2011 revolution. In addition, a very fine film, Le Professeur (The Professor), by Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud, released in 2012, recalls the embers years under Bourguiba and provides an insight into Tunisia's pre-revolutionary political regime. At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, two Tunisian films naturally found their place: Le Challat de Tunis by Kaouther Ben Hania, one of the 19 films selected by ACID, screened but out of competition, and Une journée sans femme, a short film by Najwa Limam Slama. The 2019 line-up includes Un divan à Tunis by Franco-Tunisian Manele Labidi and Un fils by Mehdi Barsaoui. Hinde Boujemaa returns the same year with Noura rêve, which wins the Tanit d'or at the Carthage Film Festival. In 2022, Sous les figues, directed by Erige Sehiri, was hailed as a "small miracle of grace" by critics. In 2024, the documentary Les Filles d'Olfa , directed by Tunisian Kaouther Ben Hania, won the César for best documentary film.
