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 revolution of 2011 inspired many films or documentaries, such as Never Again Fear (2011) by Mourad Ben Cheikh, Bastardo (2013) by Nejib Belkadhi, I Never Die by Nouri Bouzid (2012), Get Out of My Way by Mohamed Zran (2012), It Was Better Tomorrow by Hinde Boudjemaa (2012) or Cursed be the Phosphate by Sami Tlili, also in 2012. This new freedom of expression acquired since the revolution is not to everyone's taste and some films will be somewhat controversial or will be victims of censorship as the film Making of Nouri Bouzid (2006) which addresses the excesses of Islam.
Many fiction films released in the 2010s tell a wonderful story of contemporary Tunisia, often against the backdrop of the 2011 revolution, such as Parfum de printemps (Ferid Boughir, 2014) or A peine j'ouvre les yeux (Leyla Bouzid, 2015). In addition, a beautiful film, The Professor, by Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud, released in 2012, recalls the years of embers under Bourguiba and allows us to understand the Tunisian political regime before the revolution. At the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, two Tunisian films have 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. In 2019, we note, among others, Un divan à Tunis by the Franco-Tunisian Manele Labidi and Un fils by Mehdi Barsaoui. Hinde Boujemaa returns the same year with Noura Dream which wins the Tanit d'or at the Carthage Film Days.
