Yesterday at 2 p.m. took place the world premiere of the Tunisian film Beauty and pack of Kaouther Ben Hania, as part of the section A certain look of the Cannes Film Festival.
It is the first time since 1989, and more precisely since the film Gold hooves From Nouri Bouzid, a Tunisian film is selected in this category.
The evening took place a second screening in the presence of the film team, actors Mariam Al Ferjani, Ghanem Zrelli, Noomane Hamda, Chedly Arfaoui and Anissa Daoud.
Several brand guests were also present. In addition to Mr. Hamed Ben Brahim, Consul of Tunisia in Nice and Mr. Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, Ambassador of France in Tunisia, there was in particular Mr.abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritanian filmmaker and producer (president of the jury at the 2016 JCC), Mr. Elia Suleiman, director, screenwriter and actor Palestinian, Ms. Najwa Najjar Palestinian director,, M.Amir Ramses, Egyptian director, M.Mohamed Hefzy, Egyptian screenwriter and producerand some of our Tunisian filmmakers: M.ferid Boughedir, Ms. Dorra Bouchacha, Mr.ime Marzouk, Mme Lina Chaabane, M.Lotfi Achour and Mr.nejib Ayed.
Beauty and pack is a free adaptation of the book Guilty of having been raped by Mariem Ben Mohamed and Ava Djamshidi, who tells the rape of the young Mariem by three police officers and the battle she had to lead for justice.
Kaouther Ben Hania, through the drama of Marym whose horror she brings us back, will expose a rotten system that does not want to recognize the rights of citizens, especially when these rights are flouted by those who are supposed to protect them. What then to say when it comes to rape and the rapists are police officers!
What to say about the film?
Beauty and pack
We feel it so much in the guts that I got out of the projection with flanging legs and holding my sobs.
I would not talk about the cinematic aspect of this feature film. I would not speak neither technique, nor play of actors, nor photos … all this being very secondary compared to the sociological aspect of this film.
Is this film a caricature? Is it a caricature?
I asked myself a lot the question the first minutes, asking myself if there were not too many shots, but the answer is no, not at all. This film is not a caricature, this film is us and our reality. The reality of our Tunisian mentality, the reality of our hospitals, the reality of our police officers…. In store the reality of our country.
I don’t want to reveal the film too much because each of us must go see it. But I can nevertheless say that in the attempt to have her rights give up and prevent her from filing a complaint, many arguments and manipulation maneuvers we all know were used.
We tried to make the victim guilty: what was she doing outside at night, alone with a man, wearing a low-cut and short dress? Was it a virgin or not before this rape? Did she know that flirting with a man, even alone at the beach, is contrary to good manners and is liable to 6 months in prison? What will her family say when she knows? What man would like her if the scandal broke out? Why was the reputation of the police, not a patriotic? Etc….
The film denounces the state of our hospitals, the indifference of hospital staff in the face of the girl’s drama, the incompetence of these staff in the face of such cases. He also denounces the orders (etta3limete) which come from high and which do not allow civil servants to do their work….
But the film also shows that everything is not black and bad, and that some good elements exist. At the hospital, the medical examiner did his job properly and defended his patient. At the police station, an agent has rebellious against the methods used by his colleagues …
In fact, the film finished on a note of hope. The conscientious policeman says that Tunisia is a rule of law: he Bléde Fiha 9anoun. And in reality, even if it took Mariem 3 years old, she ended up obtaining justice.
Mariam Al Ferjani
Mariem herself allows you to hope. She gave us a lesson: never drop her rights. Fight whatever happens! She showed everyone that a woman, even if she had to find herself alone, can change things, can lead a whole movement and stand up to a whole system. Besides, the last scene of the film is a wink: Mariam will transform his sefsari, a veil that has been loaned to hide his “shame”, into a superhero cape!
Furthermore, it is also clear that the very existence of this film is the bearer of hope: it is great that we can, these days, make such a film in Tunisia. We must be the only Arab country to be able to denounce so. And that is already a pride.
After the two projections, I wanted to ask some people about the film for their opinion.
Some, such as Intishal TEMIMI or Amir Ramses really liked and have not made any criticism. Others have made some comments.
A Palestinian director found that the film looks more like a documentary than a fiction film. For her, there is not a cinematographic language, but the story deserved to be told and has indeed been well told. However, she thinks that it would have been necessary to write two lines at the end of the film to inform that after 3 years, the victim won his trial. According to her, it would have given more strength to the film and allowed strangers, like her, to know how this whole story ended.
This remark was also noted by M.Mohamed Hefzy who also thinks that this information on the outcome would have given more strength to the film, although he added that a film being able to show everything and that when it comes to a true story, it is necessary to know how to make choices and for him the choice to relate only the night of rape is judicious.
The film was also criticized for not having shown the role of civil society which fought with Mariem and supported it, nor shown the important role of the press either, a role barely suggested in the film.
Kaouther Ben Hania
Personally, I want to congratulate Kaouther Ben Hania who in each of her films manages to surprise us and touch us.
With The Challat of Tunis, In which she denounces with irony, the ambient machismo, she knew how to draw us smiles and even laughs. With Zaineb does not like snow, She pulled us a few tears of emotion. But with Beauty and the pack, She hurt the guts. The film takes us and envelops us by its reality, emotion rises to our throat, goes up, goes up and ended up getting us out in the form of sobs.
Bravo again to Kaouther Ben Hania who knew how to renew herself each time. Well done.
The film will be released in Tunisian cinemas after the 2017 JCC, in November.
Neïla Driss
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