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Tunisian Film Festival to open in Abu Dhabi on Sunday

ABU DHABI — Three Tunisian films will be screened at the Alliance Francaise in the capital during the Tunisian Film Festival from October 7 to 9. The festival, to be held under the joint patronage of French Ambassador to the UAE Patrice Paoli and Tunisian Ambassador to the UAE Mohammed Sediri, is in keeping with Alliance Francaise’s annual tradition of celebrating the Nights of Ramadan.

The first one is the 1996 movie ‘Essaida’. The story revolves around a 40-year-old painter, who decides to move to Essaida, a popular district in Tunis, to promote his creative talent. There he meets a teenager, whose physique and attitude draw his attention. The film is in Arabic with French subtitles.

The second presentation is the 1988 film ‘La Trace’, the story of a 10-year-old girl, Sabra, who likes to ride the bike and play games that are meant for boys, which does not match with the status of a girl from a south Tunisian village. Her mother tries to teach Sabra how to become a ‘proper’ woman and tells her the story of her own life. As a reaction, Sabra leaves home and joins her brothers in Europe.

The film is in Arabic with French subtitles.

The third film ‘Traversees’, a 1982 production, is the incredible story of two passengers, one of Slavic origin and another an Arab, who try to cross the Channel between England and Belgium, but the authorities of the two countries keep sending them back, so they find themselves prisoners on a ferry.