Dora Bouchoucha. Photo: Getty
On Monday, our favorite Arab stars came out in droves to support Tunisia’s all-new film festival. Dorra Zarrouk, Saba Mubarak, and Hend Sabry were all in attendance as the first edition of the cinematic event, entitled Manarat, kicked off with Gianfranco Rosi’s Oscar’s nominated film Fuocoammare. The event is set to run until July 15 in various locations across the North African country.
Manarat, which literally translates to “light house”, will be helmed by Tunisia’s first female film producer, Dora Bouchoucha — the mother of Vogue Arabia cover star Kenza Fourati. The award-winning producer also headed Tunisia’s Carthage Film Festival in 2008, 2010, and 2014. The news follows the announcement that Palestinian actress and director Hiam Abbass will be presiding over Paris’s new Festival Des Cinemas Arabes set to kick off later this month.
The main aim of the newly minted festival is to serve as the bridge between Mediterranean countries and Tunisia, by introducing cinematic productions hailing from the Mediterranean basin (including Italy, Bosnia, Cyprus, Algeria, and so on) to Tunis. The week-long event is anticipated to show over 50 films from 12 countries, including the documentary Ghost Hunting by Palestinian filmmaker Raed Andoni, which is one of six movies from Palestine and Morocco to be screened during the festival. Additionally, moviegoers can enjoy several non-competitive films that will be broadcast on the public beaches of La Goulette, La Marsa, Hammam-Lif, Biserta, Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir, and Gabes.
The competition section of the festival will be overseen by an expert jury that includes Egyptian actress Bushra Rozza, Lebanese actress Manel Issa, and Palestinian actress Manal Awad, and includes 10 feature films hailing from all across the Mediterranean. Some of the competing films include The Blessed (Sofia Djama, Algeria), People Do not Cry (Alan Drljevic, Bosnia and Herzegovina), and A Ciambra (Jonas Carpignano, Italy).
Manarat Festival will run from July 9 to 15. For more information about the event, click here.
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