The news fell the day before yesterday, Thursday, November 4, 2010 at the end of the afternoon. Tahar Cheriâa, man of letters and art, director and especially founder of Carthage’s film days, the first Arab-African film festival died at the age of 83 in Tunis.
He is called the spiritual father of African cinema because he gave so much to moviegoers, Tunisian, Arab and African filmmakers and to all those who believe in the development of our cinema. This generous man who feeds on cinema has done everything to defend our cinematographic identity in the world.
He also made us known several African and Arab talents including the two Egyptian filmmakers Youssef Chahine and Salah Abou Saif, the Algerian Mohamed Lakhadhar Hamina to whom we owe the excellent “Chronicle of the Broves years” (Palme d’Or, Cannes 1975) or the Senegalese Ousmane Sembene who was the first to obtain a Tanit of gold in 1966 black of ”.
The last appearance of Tahar Cheriâa took place on October 27 during an evening at the municipal theater where he was paid tribute to him. Weakened by the disease and sitting on a wheelchair, he nevertheless wanted to send a message to the Arab and African filmmakers saying: “I call the Arab and African filmmakers to be sincere with themselves and with their works, to put all their strength, body and soul, in order to make commitments, far from all influence to defend their identity”.
