Cinema
Zohra
Albert Samama Chikly · 1922
Synopsis
A young Frenchwoman is shipwrecked off the Tunisian coast. Rescued by a fisherman, she is taken in by a Bedouin family who rename her Zohra, and shares, while she recovers, the life of their tents: the shearing of the sheep, the preparation of couscous, the chore of fetching water and wood. The narrative also has something of the documentary, and dwells on the customs of the camp that it observes.
Context
Haydée Chikly, the director's daughter, wrote the screenplay, edited the film and played the title role. It was first shown in Tunis on 21 December 1922, at the Omnia Pathé according to Kapitalis, at the Nunez according to Il Cinema Ritrovato, and was a popular success. It is regarded as the first indigenous fiction production in North Africa, and critics place it in the “mysterious Orient” genre. Running times differ: thirty-five minutes for the restored version, ten for the fragment shown in Bologna, whereas the original print measured one thousand four hundred metres. The restored version has been screened at the City of Culture in Tunis.
Who it is for
A silent short film with French intertitles, to be seen for its historical value more than for its story.
Prizes and reception
The first Tunisian fiction film, it made Haydée Chikly, according to Kapitalis, the first actress of the Arab world.
Sources for this page 5
The pages consulted to check this page.