PAYING ATTENTION TO THE PERSON / STAFF WRITER: SC 1/20 ARTAFRICA
FEATURE / CARTHAGE FILM FESTIVALPAYING ATTENTION TO
THE PERSON
Carthage Film Festival
When it comes to communication, film is arguably one of the most universal
mediums. Its universality is in the language – be it the visuals, soundtrack, dialogue,
or a combination of these elements – which can speak to anyone, anywhere. These
familiar, sensory moments reach beyond one’s conscious understanding of the world.
They create a brief window of opportunity in which empathy thrives. An event like
the Carthage Film Festival – which took place in Tunis between the 21st to the 28th
November 2015 – brings together a wide variety of films from across the globe,
providing a platform for local and visiting audiences, not only to engage alternative
world views, but to recognise them and, perhaps, make them their own.For foreign guests, the festival marks an opportunity to contemplate the plethora
of local Tunisian production, and to catch a glimpse of the context in which these
films were made. For participating filmmakers, it is an opportunity to showcase work
to new audiences, placing their films in an environment that can offer up alternative
readings.The exposure garnered by international festivals such as Carthage also adds credibility
to the film’s status, which in turn boosts it on the domestic market back home. For
many filmmakers, this is a substantial step beyond the financial and infrastructural
constraints of their country’s social, political and economic framework. “We make
films, but there is no market for them back home,” says Préféré Aziaka, the twenty-
three year old filmmaker from Togo. “There are no cinemas. And DVDs are not sold
either. The Togolese don’t know my film, because there is no film market.” Aziaka’s
short-film, The Painful, formed part of the Carthage Ciné-Promesses, a new field
that selected short films by students from around the world. Aziaka’s film tells the
story of Massan, who suffers from stomach pains. Her husband, a motorcycle-taxi
driver, cannot afford her medication. In despair he decides to sell their TV, the only
luxury they have. For the filmmaker, access to cinema is a luxury. Platforms like the
Carthage Film Festival are not only important, they are a necessity.