Few of the ceremonies are so forcefully mixed the pain of loss with the sweetness of memory. But that’s how it took place The official tribute ceremony to the late Néjib Ayed Organized this morning, Sunday October 27 in the Omar Khelifi room at the Cité de la Culture in Tunis.
In the presence of the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Mr.Mohamed Zinelabidine, the family of the late Nejib Ayed, his friends, collaborators, as well as many artists, filmmakers and journalists, the speakers took the floor to pay tribute to the man, the committed intellectual, the father and the companion he was. Among the presents, the director Ferid Boughedir, the actress Leila Toubel, the actor Ali Bannour and the director Hamadi Arafa.
The first tribute was musical, with a piece composed in memory of the late Néjib Ayed by his longtime friend the Belgian soloist “Christian Lacroix”. While in the piano flowed the music ” Of a walk with a friend“, The photos of the late Néjib Ayed paraded on the giant screen of the Omar Khelifi room.
To present this tribute ceremony Raja Farhat began by recalling the imprint of Néjib Ayed and his action since the 1970s in favor of Ciné Clubs. The deceased militated to implant these spaces of freedom and reflection everywhere in Tunisia and particularly in the most disadvantaged regions. “At a time when opinions and gestures were monitored, Nejib Ayed militated so that these temples of free and progressive thought live,” said Raja Farhat before giving way to the various testimonies in tribute to Nejib Ayed.
The first to speak was Fatma Mansour, close friend of the family who dedicated a funeral poem to her missing friend.
Feryel Kallela, Tunisian screenwriter, who came from Canada specially to pay tribute to the master and guide to life as in the cinema, who has always encouraged and believed him since his beginnings, as he had done with many young talents.
“I admired his elegance, I stuck in his shadow and followed him everywhere. I wanted to learn everything from him” with these moved words, Mohamed Amine Boukhriss expressed the pain of having lost a friend and a mentor. He spoke of the faith that Nejib Ayed had in young talents and his ability to discover them. Néjib Ayed notably allowed him to achieve War Reporter (2013), a cinematographic adventure that the producer supported and produced despite the risk taking.
Tunisian producer Habib Attia, son of the late Baha Eddine Attia, very moved, said “losing him, I lost my father a second time”. The late Baha Eddine Attia, Tunisian producer and friend of Néjib Attia died a few years ago.
Director Hamadi Arafa reported the common journey he had with the late Néjib Ayed. Both had produced and produced many fictions and serials for Tunisian national television, such as “Al Douar”, “El Nass Hekaya” and “Warda”. He spoke of the human and professional qualities of Néjib Ayed, his respect for his teams, his collaborators, his punctuality, and his seriousness …
Madame Chiraz Latiri expressed her deep sadness of losing a close friend, in addition to the man of culture and cinema with whom she worked and collaborated for years.
The Minister of Cultural Affairs took the floor to evoke the imprint that Nejib Ayed left in national cultural life and the void left by his departure, by inciting artists and filmmakers to continue the action driven by the late Nejib Ayed.
The interventions were interspersed with musical interludes, with a recital by Zohra Lajnef while on the screens paraded in photos, fragments of life of Néjib Ayed.
“I lost my father, my father is dead”, it is the moved and overwhelming words of Ahmed Ayed, inconsolable, who spoke with sobriety and sadness of his memories of childhood and young man with his father and the exceptional relationship they had.
Leila Toubel, friend of the deceased, dedicated a poem, in tribute to her memory.
Najet Nabli, widow of Néjib Ayed, spoke with emotion of what the man and the companion represented for her as well as her life as an artist militant for culture. She announced the creation of the Néjib Ayed Foundation for culture and cinema, dedicated to supporting young talents to allow them to realize their dreams and projects.
If everything in this 30th edition of the Carthage JCC 2019 Cartham Days – Session Nejib Ayed, recalls his departure, his benevolent absence presence and his memory sheds light on these days. Farewell to Si Néjib was beautiful, melodious and moving as was his life.
Press release
