The 35th edition of the Carthage Film Festival opened on Saturday evening at the City of Culture in the presence of Minister of Culture Amina Sarrafi, several Tunisian film, art, and media professionals, and guests from the festival’s participating countries.
The opening ceremony was limited to the red carpet where the guests of the festival, led by the lights of the cameras and the lenses of the photographers, walked while jazz music played in the theatre square to express the issues of oppressed peoples and the defence of fair universal human values.
With many seats in the Opera Theatre empty, the opening ceremony was marked by the absence of many Tunisian film and art personalities.
The opening ceremony began with an homage to the late Arab theatrical, television and film star Fathi Haddoui, who died on 12 December 2024 at the age of 63.
There was also a tribute to film critic and journalist Khemais Khayati, whose death on 18 June 2024 was at the age of 77.
Actress Aicha Ben Ahmed was also honored, and artist Raouf Ben Amor presented her with a shield.
The festival then paid tribute to Palestinian, Jordanian and Senegalese cinema in the Cinema in Focus section. 19 Palestinian films will be screened, ranging from street screenings (14 films) to cinema screenings (5 films).
Twelve films are scheduled in the FOCUS Jordan section and 14 films in the FOCUS Senegal section.
The films competing for this edition’s prizes were presented. These include the National Competition for Tunisian Films, which includes 12 films, as well as the juries of the various competitions.
The films will compete in four main contests: the Best Feature Film Contest, the Best Documentary Feature Film Contest, the Best Documentary Shortfilm Contest and the Best Documentary Shortfilm Contest.
TunisianMonitorOnline (NejiMed)
