A little over a month ago, Kaouther Ben Hania had announced that her new film The man who sold his skin (The Man Who Sold His Skin) had been selected to participate in the orrizonti (horizons) competition of the 77th Edition of the Venice International Film Festival which is held from September 2 to 12, 2020.
It is this evening, and more precisely at 7:45 p.m. in the Casino room that the world premiere of this film will take place, written and directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, and co -produced, among others, by Tanit Films (Nadim Cheikhrouha) and Cinetelefilms (Habib Attia).
The man who sold his skin Was partly shot in Tunisia, with the main roles the beautiful Italian actress Monica Bellucci and the young actor Yahya Mahayni.
Synopsis:
To escape war, Sam Ali, a sensitive and impulsive young Syrian, has left his country for Lebanon. To be able to travel to Europe and live with the love of his life, he agrees to get his back tattooed by one of the most sulphurous contemporary artists in the world. Transforming his own body into a prestigious work of art, Sam will however realize that his decision could actually signify something other than freedom.
Presenting his film, Kaouther Ben Hania said: “The draft The man who sold his skin was born from the meeting between two worlds. The world of contemporary art, and more particularly the work of the Belgian artist Wim Delvoye (TIM, 2006) and the world of political refugees-in particular Syrian refugees, their fight with travel documents and residence permits … I have indeed wondered: “What would happen if a famous artist proposed to a refugee to become his work of art to solve his freedom of movement?”. Thus, Sam Ali’s journey was born: a passionate young refugee thrown into a cynical world. An ordinary man in the face of an extraordinary adventure. The film is also a love story where the protagonist is separated from the woman he loves, and he tries to recover even if he has to lose his dignity and his skin in the process. Or what does it mean to be free when the game is already rigged, when you don’t have much choice? The man who sold his skin is an allegory on the personal freedom of a person in an unequal system addressing a broader meaning of our problems in the real world. »»
In a few years, Kaouther Ben Hania has established himself as one of the greatest filmmakers in the Arab world. She knew, with a very great talent, making very different films, as well by the themes addressed, as in form. Each film innovates and has a very particular style. The Challat of Tunis (2013) For example, although it is a fiction film, presents itself as a documentary. He also surprises the spectator, who throughout the film is intrigued and no longer knows if it is a documentary or a fiction. For beautiful and pack (2017)9 chapters, which are available in nine sequences.
Thanks to this wealth and this diversity, Kaouther Ben Hania has become a regular at major film festivals and awards. His first documentary feature Imams go to school (2010) had been selected at the Dubai International Film Festival, his first fiction feature film The Challat of Tunis had been presented in the ACID parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, his film Zaineb doesn’t like snow (2016) had been screened in first and off competition at the Locarno International Film Festival, and had won the gold Tanit at the 2016 JCC. As of Beauty and pack,, He had opened the Un Certain Regard section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and there had been great success with the public and the pressa success which continued on the Netflix platform. In 2018, Beauty and pack had also been the film submitted by Tunisia for the 2019 Oscar for the best foreign language film. And finally, his last short film SHEIKH WETPLESS (2018) has won among others The prize for best director at the Malmö Arabic Film Festival and the bronze star at the El Gouna film festival in 2018.
Good luck to this new film, hoping that it will have a very good career and that we will see it very soon in Tunisia.
Neïla Driss
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