Gabes destination for filmmakers at “Gabes Cinema Fen”

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The city of Gabes is hosting the Gabes Cinema Fen Festival (GCFEN), an annual event dedicated to films from the Arab world and the diaspora, from April 27 to May 2, 2023, at the Agora space.

TAP's correspondent in Gabes noted a great cultural dynamic in the region, which is currently a destination for celebrities in cinema.

10 years after its release in 2013, the fiction film "Bastardo" by Nejib Belkadhi is released in a new version "Director's Cut, of Bastardo". A version with unedited scenes was previewed at Gabes Cinema Fen in the presence of the director and the artistic team.

Bastardo won awards at several international festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival. It will be released in cinemas soon.

This film is selected in the "Special Sessions" section which presents two other Tunisian fiction, Ashkal by Youssef Chebbi and Under The Fig Trees.

A selection of 22 films is in the official competition line-up, including 10 feature films (fiction, docu-drama and documentary) and 12 short films. Most of the films in competition are multi-country co-productions from 2022.

The selection includes three films produced in 2023, including a feature-length documentary (153') co-produced with France - Geology of Separation by Yosr Gasmi and Mauro Mazzocchi.

The short section includes an animated film, A Toi by Wafa Lazhari (18'), and an experimental film, J'ai connu des rivières by Saif Fradj and Esraa ElFeky (18') co-produced with Egypt.

Gabes Cinema Fen is an opportunity where virtual reality is a bridge between discoveries, dreams and imaginations that link film, image, sound and technology. The festival offers four sections Video Art, Virtual Reality, Cinema and Art.

Four films are presented at the annual "Hackathon VR" which is a collaborative project for the creation of films in VR, organised with students from ISAM Gabès (Institut supérieur des arts et Métiers).

The Cinema section offers a competition dedicated to Arab productions.

The Video Art section presents a video projection on the Agora's façade, in partnership with Dream City. This exhibition by the artist Achref Bettaieb, selected in 2022 in the K Off section, is the result of an artistic residency in Gabes offered by the association Focus Gabes.

K Off presents six Tunisian artists including Walid Ghezala, Malek Boukadida, Seif Fradj, Dorra Hichri, Hamza Madfai and Elma Riza who is based in Berlin.

The "Nariman Mari Retrospective" presents a selection of four films by this Algerian director, editor and producer.

The previous edition of GCFEN took place from 6 to 12 May 2022. Cinema, video art and VR are at the heart of this cinematographic event which is hosted each year by the city of Gabes in south-eastern Tunisia.

The ecological issue and the problems of pollution linked to the phosphate industry in Gabes remain at the centre of the programme. In collaboration with cultural and environmental associations in the region, GCFen works "to create new synergies that make people rethink the city and its issues through art".

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

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