The Arab radio and television festival has opened the day before yesterday evening in Tunis, at the Cité de la Culture. This event, which takes place from June 12 to 15, 2023, started with enthusiasm with traditional Tunisian folk dances, thus enchanting the guests present.
The outdoor courtyard of the City of Culture was the place chosen for these first festive moments, where traditional Tunisian dances were executed with grace, aroused the admiration of all spectators.
The official opening ceremony took place at the Opera and was broadcast live by several Arab television channels. She gathered prestigious Arab guests, including diplomats, professionals from the festival partner media and renowned artists. Among the notable personalities were Mohammed Bin Fahd al-Harthi, president of the Union of broadcasting of the Arab States (Asbu), Abderrahim Soliman, Director General of Asbu, Hayet Ketat Guermasi, Minister of Cultural Affairs, and Butros al-Halaq, Minister of Syrian Information.
Tributes were paid to renowned actors and directors, such as the Egyptian actress Sherine, the Lebanese director and actor Georges Ghabbaz, the actress Emirati Fatma Houssani, the Libyan director Hassan Garfel, the Moroccan director Sanaa Akroud, the Syrian actor Milad Youssef and the Syrian actress Rawaa Saadi. The festival has also paid tribute to emblematic figures of Arab audiovisual, including Abdel Aziz Kacem, former president and chief executive officer of the Tunisian broadcasting Establishment, and Moncef Baldi, Tunisian actor.
In addition to these personalities, other renowned professionals from the radio and television industry have been honored, notably Iness Jawhar, former director of Egyptian radio, Hani Farraj, former director of the ASBU administrative and legal committee, Ines Yacoub, director of Bahrain, and Taki Eddine Soubira des Comoros.
After the speeches and tributes paid to the Arab radio and television personalities, the evening took a musical turn with the highlighting of the composer and pianist Mohamed Ali Kammoun by the Asbu. The artist expressed his gratitude to the organizers who entrusted him with the design of the elements of the opening show, carried out following workshops in different countries.
His show entitled “Arab perfumes” is a fusion between Tunisian and Arabic sounds, offering a musical journey through 22 perfumes representing the Arab countries and their rich diversity of musical genres. Under the direction of the Maestro Mohamed Bouslama, this 90-minute show consisted of five artistic paintings called “Maghrebian-Andalusian perfumes”, “Perfumes des oasis”, “Femmes de femmes”, “Perfumes des Côtes” and “Sub-Saharan perfumes”.
On stage, artists such as the Lebanese Jaheda Wehbe, the Tunisian Sofien Zaidi, the Algerian Abbas Right and many others participated by bringing their talent to this musical journey. Troops of Palestinian, Libyan and Tunisian dancers (Kerkennah Island) also offered choreographic performances, creating a bewitching atmosphere and paying homage to the immense cultural heritage of the region.
Unfortunately, the first part of the show, devoted to Andalusian and Maghrebus music, was deemed too long and was able to annoy certain guests, who chose to leave the room. However, the second part of the show was able to captivate the audience with a variety of performances combining dance and music. It was magnificent to see the nationalities of artists, musical genres and dance styles mingling harmoniously. For example, Palestinian dancers evolving on Tunisian music or a young oriental singer performing traditional Tunisian songs.
The Arab radio and television festival is not limited to the opening ceremony, it offers a rich and varied program for the days to come. At the central hall of the City of Culture, 80 exhibitors from around the world have welcomed visitors since this morning, presenting a multitude of advanced products and equipment linked to new technologies in audiovisual production.
By browsing the various stands, we note the presence of the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism which exhibits two outfits claiming to represent Tunisian heritage and crafts. However, one cannot help but notice that these outfits do not reflect the local tradition. One of the outfits is a kind of cheap fabric kimono, probably synthetic, adorned with a machine -made embroidery. It is legitimate to wonder why these outfits do not highlight traditional clothes from a specific region of the country. Why not have exposed magnificent ancient Tunisian outfits, which are also present in the rare museums of the country? A few weeks ago, the Dar Cherait museum organized a superb exhibition of traditional outfits in Tunis, it would have been possible to solicit a loan for a few days.
It is important to emphasize that several Arab and Arabic -speaking television channels, such as France 24, are present. Why not show them what the country has more beautiful? This remark also applies to the male outfit. Why not opt for an elegant and quality old Tunisian outfit? Why favor these cheap articles that do not even correspond to our tradition? We have so magnificent outfits, but we prefer to present to foreigners cheap articles that we find in the souks and which are not even authentic!
Organized by the Union of Broadcasting Arab States (ASBU), in partnership with Tunisian radio and television establishments and the Arab organization of communication satellites (Arabsat), this festival brings together members of the Asbu, whether television channels and public or private Arab radio stations, production companies or Arabic press agencies. Production companies, non -Arab radio channels and radio stations broadcasting in Arabic are also invited to participate.
Since its creation in 1969, the Asbu has been working to strengthen cooperation between Arab broadcasting organizations in order to develop the content of their audiovisual productions. This year, the Arab radio and television festival welcomes 15 television channels and 15 members of Radio Members in its official selection for audiovisual media professionals.
The program includes two competitions and two parallel sections dedicated to television and radio works. The official competition has 90 television works and 129 radio works, while the parallel section presents 50 television works and 108 radio works. A jury made up of professionals in the sector will be responsible for awarding prices to the winners during the closing ceremony.
And it is at the magnificent Roman amphitheater of Carthage, located in the heart of the archaeological site of the northern suburbs of Tunis, that this closing ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 15. A special evening that will be marked by the awards ceremony to the winners of the various competitions. To close the festival in style, the famous Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny will host an unforgettable show, thus offering a moment of entertainment and celebration to participants and spectators.
Neïla Driss
