A mecca of used books, Dabaghine street has seen its flow of foot traffic subside over the years. Passers-by seem more interested in rolls of fabric and fricassé than books, as vendors look on, hoping to resist the zeitgeist.
Culture 57
At the Nawaat Festival, resistance as the watchword
Every year, Nawaat—one of Tunisia’s rare independent media outlets, which publishes both a webzine and paper magazine—hosts its festival in the capital. The original theme chosen for this year’s edition was feminism, however, current events in Palestine pushed Nawaat’s editing team to expand the scope of the event in tribute to the spirit of resistance.
Innawaation: Malek Khemiri presents Black Label
No more than it is appropriate to go through Malek Khemiri’s photographs at a run, one should not look for a practice of reporting in Black Babel. His approach, subject to the authority of current events, nonetheless tends to go beyond them. These images taken between January and February 2021, would they be more than small pebbles left behind, snapshots of memory? From that winter, when the pandemic was in full swing, we will have kept the memory of corseted nights, sucked in until noon by the clamor of the riots whose day would prolong the echo.
Innawaation: Empire & WMD present Gloub Faydha
« Gloub Faydha », a rap song created within the Bab El Beat project, is a cry of revolt against the established political class and a call for resistance against police repression. The clip alternates between the fictional universe reflected in the song’s lyrics and Nawaat’s video coverage of protests. In form, these videos match the music’s accelerated tempo and hard core percussion. In substance, they illustrate the song’s theme and lyrics.
Innawaation: Callum Francis Hugh presents « Hors-Réseaux »
Far beyond the destructive influence of social media, 4G and « catch all » algorithms, who and where are the individuals living outside the echo chamber that is today’s media landscape? Is their existence « off-the-grid » by obligation, or by choice? To answer this, Callum set out with his camera into the Saharan desert, where he met a family of nomads, the Raabia. In this arid zone of southwest Tunisia, transhumance is the core of existence for the Raabia, whose cross-desert migrations to graze their herds are dictated by the changing of the seasons. While borders may be of little concern to this family, climate change has begun to take its toll on daily life, threatening their very survival.
Innawaation: Haithem Sakouhi presents « Syndrome de Tunis »
Le syndrome de Tunis (Tunis syndrome) is an urban symphony which tells the story of an anonymous photographer whose fascination with his city becomes an obsession. A docu-drama that sheds light on the current condition of colonial architecture in Tunisia’s capital city.
Innawaation: Rym Amami presents Phaza 907 B
« Nuts », Rym Amami & Ghazi Frini, are two oleaginous adventurers who spent years of their lives in vitro, inside jars belonging to Arbi the « 7ammas » [corner store owner]. As they carefully planned their escape, the two nuts made themselves very tiny in order to avoid being snatched up, and spent hours smoking Camel cigarettes and digging a tunnel with the help of a wooden spoon borrowed from a « President » ice cream.
Highlights of 2021: Nawaat Festival #1 [Video]
A varied fare was on the menu for the first edition of Nawaat Festival, held on December 10-12 at our office in Tunis. Featuring the photo exhibition « Black Label » by Malek Khemiri, film screenings («The Oasis», «Kerkennapolis» and «Plasticratie»), a debate on « The 25 July Regime: Rupture or Continuity? » plus a concert by Vipa and VR Corner, the first edition of Nawaat festival kicked off what promises to be a landmark event on Tunisia’s cultural scene.
Echoes of Censorship as Police Confiscate Books at Tunis Book Fair
This year’s annual Tunis International Book Fair—the 36th edition and held at the Kram exhibition center from November 11 to 21—was eagerly anticipated since last year’s fair was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, the event was marred by some of the practices and symbolism reminiscent of the authoritarian Ben Ali regime.
Cinema for Prisoners Too, as JCC Film Festival Kicks Off
As Tunisia’s biggest annual film festival, the Carthage Cinema Days (JCC) kicked off on Sunday, October 30, the traditionally desperate search for tickets began. But one group of people received their own private film screening: about 150 prisoners from the Oudhna Civil Prison, including 30 female prisoners who were brought in from the Manouba Women’s Prison facility.
“كواليس فيديو “ڨلوب فايضة – Making Of “Gloub Faydha”
“كواليس فيديو “ڨلوب فايضة – Making Of Gloub Faydha
WMD featuring EMP1RE & GAL3Y – GLOUB FAYDHA
This project is a partof Innawaation : « Gloub Faydha », a rap song created within the Bab El Beat project, is a cry of revolt against the established political class and a call for resistance against police repression. The clip alternates between the fictional universe reflected in the song’s lyrics and Nawaat’s video coverage of protests. In form, these videos match the music’s accelerated tempo and hard core percussions. In substance, they illustrate the song’s theme and lyrics.
Nawaat Festival – Aftermovie
To celebrate its 17th anniversary, Nawaat has launched its own festival. Held from April 2-4 at its premises in the Belvédère district in Tunis, the event drew hundreds of visitors. Screenings of the documentaries “Non grata” and “Generation Manich Msamah”, debates as well as an exhibition of -Z-, and a mini-concert by Badiaa Bouhrizi were on the program.
Innawaation: Call for projects – creative media projects incubator [II]
This 2nd call aims to expand our model with tools and content that include the diverse disciplines cited above. Innawaation is a creative media projects incubator structured around a series of residencies and events. These collaborations will take place during sessions that span 3 to 6 months of work.
Despite France’s efforts, is French language in Tunisia on its way out?
Held on March 9 at Tunis’ City of Culture, the Forum de la Francophonie marked the beginning of the month of Francophonie which is celebrated by French cultural institutions in Tunisia. The country will host the Summit of Francophonie in August 2020, even as the use of French language is on the decline and questions around language are charged with identity issues.
Rouhanyet Mystic Fest : « Is this what you call peace and love? »
Rouhanyet Mystic Fest is celebrating Season of Peace, its third edition which takes place from September 5-9 in Tunis’ postcardesque Sidi Bou Saïd. Organized by actor Hichem Rostom and wife Sana Ezzine, the event claims to be a « spiritual gathering based on mystic arts, sufism, sacred musics and all expressions of spirituality », offering festival-goers a smattering of yoga sessions, crystal healing and nightly musical concerts with the likes of Yuma and Labess. But amidst festival slogans of « peace, love, tolerance and fraternity », several artists from the previous edition are calling, quite simply, to be paid for their work.
Hip hop in Tunisia: Debo crew through the eyes of two female members
This is a portrait of the Tunisian hip hop movement DEBO through the eyes of two of its leading members: Souhayla Mansour, a cultural entrepreneur who seeks artistic solutions to social issues, and Synda Jebali, a passionate dancer who challenges herself to experiment with new forms of expression. Both dream and resist.
Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def meets the Tunisian hip hop scene
It’s mathematics. In T-minus 10 days, Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as Mos Def, will be at Carpe Diem in La Marsa for Tunis Block Party (TBP) on May 10. Like the first two editions organized by collectives FRD, Upper Underground and Debo, the event will gather la crème de la crème of Tunisian DJs, Bboys, rappers and graffers. After an impressive turnout for block parties 1 and 2, a performance by the « Bey of Brooklyn » is sure to draw an even larger crowd for the event’s third edition. But TBP is not just a show for hip hop aficionados: with as much emphasis on street as stage, the party promises equal parts entertainment plus much-needed, healthy competition for participating artists.
