For the second consecutive year and on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, the presentation of the second edition of Manarat Mediterranean Film Festival which will take place from July 1 to 7, 2019, took place during a press conference held at the Tunisian pavilion of the International Village Riviera in Cannes.
There were several journalists, film critics, producers, distributors, festival directors and other professionals in Tunisian and foreign cinema, including in particular the Egyptian actress Bushra, who had been a member of the jury during the first edition of the Manarat festival in 2018.
Ms. Dorra Bouchoucha, director of the festival, recalled that at the beginning, few people had believed in this festival taking place in summer. They thought that in summer, Tunisians would prefer idleness and sunbathe in the sun. This is also the reason why the festival did not wait for the public to move in the rooms, but on the contrary went to them, on the beaches, in addition with free access.
The public followed with enthusiasm and was present en masse on these beaches. Moreover, for this reason, it was decided for this second edition, to increase projections on ten beaches from north to the south of the country and to keep only two cinemas, Cinemadart and Alhambra Zéphyr, mainly for competition films and for certain films that cannot be screened at the beach.
The actors and teams of the guest films will themselves present their films on the beaches.
The films chosen will come from various countries. There is no need for unpublished or very recent films, the goal being to go to an audience that is not particularly film buff, which is not used to going to the cinema and which would not necessarily appreciate difficult films or reserved for a more connoisseur.
On the contrary, it is a question of offering films which distract while allowing to discover new horizons and to encourage reflection.
In addition, the choice fell on country films that Tunisians do not know, this is how there will be films coming from Albania, Cyprus, Croatia … The Tunisian public will therefore have the opportunity to discover these countries and especially to note that on both sides of the shores of the Mediterranean, peoples are alike and have the same concerns.
The selected films (fiction feature films and documentaries from around twenty countries) have the merit of talking about the realities of the region, this Mediterranean, Creuset of Civilization.
In addition, for a few years the Arab films have been of quality, but they are not distributed everywhere and do not circulate well. Some very beautiful films are only shown in festivals, why not take them to the public? Manarat being a popular festival, it is precisely an opportunity to show these films there.
A jury made up of five members, directors and performers from the various countries of the region, will award the gold manar of the best film and a prize for the best interpretation.
For this second edition, two countries will be in the spotlight: Egypt and Italy.
In addition to film screenings, there will be meetings, workshops, panels, conversations with international filmmakers on subjects that affect the current state of cinema. Institutional meetings will be organized, such as that of the directors of cinema centers which becomes an annual meeting in Manarat, with the aim of weaving links and exchanges to facilitate the circulation of works. A very great Egyptian director and one of the most important writers in the Arab world will be present. There will also be the signing of a book on Bourguiba.
In response to the question of a journalist who asked why the management of the Manarat festival had chosen to hold a press conference in Cannes, Ms. Dorra Bouchoucha said that the main reason was to take advantage of the presence of foreign professionals and journalists who came for the Cannes Film Festival, and to create animation in the Tunisian pavilion around Tunisian cinema and therefore attract the spotlight to Tunisia and its cinema. “” Films are the best ambassadors in a country. Today finding Arab and African films at the Cannes Film Festival with Ken Loach or Pédro Almodóvar films is extraordinary. So we have to take advantage of it to show our cinema! She added.
Neïla Driss
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