Whether you are on the left or right, everyone is riding or learns to surf the wave that will prevail towards the peaks of power or the anteroom of art. A wave called religion. And it continues … We do new with old.
We live in Tunisia the golden age, the one that allows everyone to express themselves and without any distinction and in all forms and the whole immerses us in the informal.
“Nouvelle Tunisie” An online newspaper features the director Ibrahim Letayayef who finalizes his second film today. The title “Awakening, Cupid and Stupid” reminds us without too much trouble, the title of the film by Ettore Scola “awful, dirty and bad”. But there stops the comparison. Ibrahim Letayef declares: “In my film, the Salafists roll shovels”
The synopsis of this film can be summed up, according to the filmmaker, to the police corruption and the hypocrisy of the Salafists.
A project which, according to him, has grown in the shadow of the drawers since 2006, but here is the moment to highlight it, to draw the glory of the persecuted artist, or the daring artist at the limit … reckless!
This film will be released on screens next October.
We still keep the bitter imprint of the film “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi and that of “Neither God nor Master” by Nadia El Fani.
What then to think of a film that will attack the representatives of the Order and those who think they are the representatives of God?
To this Mr. Letaief replies that he counts on the humor of each other! But what is the last time he saw a police officer or a Salafist laughing since the Revolution?
It is true that deep down, we all have, this unpleasant and agonizing impression of having lost our revolution. But is it a reason to shoot an ambulance?
We live a galloping insecurity and violence that will crescendo, we have the right in this politically and socially unstable atmosphere to make art & provocative. ? Especially when countries whose democracy has been well established, and this, for years, still have trouble assimilating a poster of Oliviero Tuscan who worked on behalf of Benetton and howl in scandal!
What then to think of this very small and young Tunisia freshly released from the yoke of the dictatorship, which does not stop being on top- below.
Let us time to mature, to grow, to understand what happens to us, before stirring up the fires of hatred, anger and stupidity.
But a chance like this does not wait and the recipes that will result from it either. A golden opportunity, to finally make a name for itself and to get anonymous. From grace then, do not hide behind art and artistic freedom; In our Tunisian context, it no longer makes sense!
Apart from shocking the popular mass!