Documentary Days in Douz: Reviving Spirit of Cinema in Heart of Sahara

Douz Documentary Days, running December 22-25, 2011

Douz, is a town in southern Tunisia that many consider the gateway to the African Sahara. It is best known for its annual International Sahara Festival.

This year the city is introducing a new festival, the first annual Douz Documentary Days – to supplement the Sahara Festival’s program. The first of its kind in Douz, the documentary festival opens today, December 22nd, and will close on the 25th. The festival is organized by Caravan Documentaries, an organization founded in April 2011 with the goal of screening documentaries throughout the country – focusing especially on smaller towns and villages.

On opening night, Tunisian film makers Chokri Arfaoui and Najwa Khechem will screen their film titled, “La révolution vue par les enfants” [The Revolution in the Eyes of Children].

The program will include many exciting and interactive events. Devised by Hichem Ben Ammar and Khamis Chaoued, two of the festivals organizers, some of the program’s highlights include a class for audiovisual educators and a national competition for short, medium and feature films – most of which are newly produced. Open air film projections will be open to the public, showcasing action features that are filmed in the desert. Most films screened will revolve around themes of traveling the desert landscape and the culture associated with it.

Helmi Hosni, an organizer of the festival, is eager to introduce the local community of Douz to the world of cinema again, “Part of our program [Caravan Documentaries] has been to go to institutionally neglected towns and provide them with films that the communities wish to see and can relate to. We wish to revive the spirit of cinema in all corners of the country – and not just the wealthier cinema hubs in the country.” Among the organization’s efforts in Douz is the rehabilitation of the local theater and providing training sessions for local youth interested in the world of filmmaking.

Douz, a city in the heart of the Sahara

Ben Ammar’s “Un conte de faits” [Once Upon a Time, 2009], about a young aspiring musician living in the Tunisian suburbs, will also be screened. The film won First Prize at the African Film Festival of Milan last year. Other films on the festival’s eclectic lineup include: “Last Train Home” by Lixin Fan, and “Blague à part et Lampedusa” [Joking Aside: Lampedusa] by Vanessa Rousselot.

According to Hosni, Caravan Documentaries’ next festival will be hosted in the inland town of Kasserine. The festival will showcase films and stage plays from the Tunisian and Arab world, along with hosting more training sessions.