Cinema
Man of Ashes
ريح السد
Nouri Bouzid · 1986
Synopsis
In Sfax, Hachemi, a young carpenter, is to be married in a few days. As the wedding approaches, he shrinks back, and memories he has never spoken of return in spite of himself: as children, his friend Farfat and he suffered the abuse of Ameur, their former workshop boss. When an inscription on a wall implicates Farfat, the secret threatens to come out, while Hachemi's father presses him to go through with it. An old Jewish man, Mr Levy, is the only one to listen to them.
Context
Bouzid's first feature film, which he wrote, the film was also the first production of Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia, for Cinétéléfilms and the Satpec; the cinematography is by Youssef Ben Youssef and the editing by Mika Ben Miled. Imed Maalal plays Hachemi, Khaled Ksouri Farfat, Mustapha Adouani Ameur. One hundred and nine minutes long, it was shown at Cannes in 1986 and deals with subjects long left unspoken in Tunisian cinema, homosexuality and the sexual abuse of children by a figure of authority. A press campaign targeted it, but it drew three hundred thousand spectators in Tunisia according to Senses of Cinema. Restored in 2025 in Bologna, it was rereleased in Tunis in November 2025.
Who it is for
A film in Tunisian Arabic, with a narrative fragmented between present and memories, about abuse suffered in childhood; for a mature audience.
Prizes and reception
Tanit d'or at the Carthage Film Festival in 1986, then grand prize at the Chicago festival in 1987.
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