Tunis to host off-site edition of Jean Rouch International Film Festival

The Jean Rouch International Film Festival, one of Europe's leading events for documentary films focusing on the human and social sciences, will be held for the first time in Tunis, in an off-site edition scheduled for February 22-25, 2024. This off-site event in Tunis will be organised by the Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain (IRMC), the Tunisian Cinémathèque and the Association Sentiers, with the support of the Comité du Film Ethnographique of the Jean Rouch International Film Festival. The main aim of organising this off-site event in Tunis is to promote ethnographic and documentary cinema and the link between art and the humanities in Tunisia, says the IRMC. The line-up includes screenings and debates on seven selected documentary films, workshops for students of cinema, visual anthropology and social sciences, and a Masterclass open to the public and attended by film-makers. "As part of a more structured approach, the festival organisers in Paris and the team in Tunisia hope to make this partnership a lasting one, with the aim of making it a not-to-be-missed film festival in Tunisia and anchoring this event in the cultural landscape of the city of Tunis," adds the same source. The Festival's aim is to showcase the most innovative and relevant trends in ethnographic filmmaking, visual anthropology and to promote dialogue between cultures. The Festival selects films that document and explore human societies and cultures in their many facets, such as social and cultural diversity, continuity and change, cultural transmission, relationship to the environment. The IRMC released the list of the 7 selected films, pending publication of the detailed programme. Admission to all sessions and events is free. Here is the list of the 7 selected films: Tonratun, the story of Armenia told by women by Inna Mkhitaryan (Armenia, 2022, 84') Light upon Light by Christian Suhr (Egypt, Denmark 2022, 78') Las y los minuscules by Khristine Gillard (Belgium, 2021, 150') Transfariana by Joris Lachaise (Fr ance, Colombia, 2022, 153') Pastorale électrique by Ivan Boccara (Morocco, 2017, 93') Maman colonelle by Dieudonné Hamadi (Democratic Republic of Congo, 2016, 72') Babylone by Ismaël and Youssef Chebbi, Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia, 2012, 121'). Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse