El Gort
Carte blanche – Ikbal Zalila
Two young Tunisians try to survive by working in the hay trade. Their day begins at the crack of dawn and never seems to end. With no alternative between unemployment and exploitation, the dreams of a carefree youth soon turn into despair.
I know this village well, Mohammedia, I was born and raised there. And over the years, I saw it grow like a monster … and I saw its olive trees uprooted … I saw its fertile land covered with buildings …
The Tunisian economy is largely built on agriculture, and that’s why I chose to present this segment of the population that works in various trades related to agriculture …
I chose to treat this subject by personal attachment… because as a young Tunisian, I have a feeling of responsibility and duty towards this village, Mohammedia, and towards my country…
And also because my father spent more than thirty years of his life in this job… with the haystack for a pillow and its smell in his lungs…
Hamza Ouni
Hamza Ouni, Tunisian director, was born in 1975 in El Mohammedia, where he still lives today. He began a first cycle of film studies at the Maghreb Institute of Cinema, and then continued his training at the School of Arts and Cinema in Tunis, where he specialized in writing and filmmaking. El Gort, his first feature documentary, won the Best Filmmaker of the Arab World Award, the International Critics’ Award (FIPRESCI), the Talent Dove at DOK Leipzig and the Tanit de Bronze at the JCC in 2014. El Medestansi (The Disqualified) is his second feature film.
Mhamdia Productions
Hatem Al Nashi, Mohamad Hakim Bu Jumaa
Hasan Al Najar, Jaber Al Namoushi, Wasim Al Trabuls
Najwa Al Khechemi
stephane.jourdain@lahuit.fr
