Tunisia, France, Qatar, Arabic - 100 min
asmachiboub@yahoo.com
Alyssa and her friend Mehdi use their imagination to escape their unpromising fate. They undertake a crazy road trip to take part in a contest that may allow them to change their lives.
10 years after the Revolution, young Tunisians still live in a society plagued by unemployment, the lack of infrastructure and culture and see emigration as the solution for a brighter future. “Tunis–Djerba” depicts the reality of two representatives of this youth left aside: Alyssa and Mehdi, two best friends who will cross Tunisia on a road trip punctuated by encounters, obstacles, wonder and disappointments. My film came out of the need to give a voice to this youth. I wanted a film about them, but with their tone and energy. A sunny road trip that reflects their freshness without omitting the real challenges. The ambient chaos is counterbalanced by the characters’ overflowing imagination. In order to escape his harsh routine, Mehdi draws images related to stories he tells his friend, which inspire Alyssa in recreating her reality and escaping uncomfortable situations. Without specific editing or calibration changes, her imagination takes place in the narrative. All this brings to the film a surreal and poetic side that contrasts with the topics. Beside their physical trip, the characters go through an imaginary journey that makes this road movie differentiate itself from the codes of the genre. Above all, this movie is a friendship story. All over the world, but especially in the Arab world, we separate genders. Here, I make a point of mixing roles, inventing a courageous female character and a sensitive male character, without these being their only traits.
When Amel gave me the 1st draft of "Tunis-Djerba" to read, I was immediately sensitive to the way she dealt with serious topics such as depression, unemployment, emigration... in a subtle way, without falling into melodrama. I was transported by the lightness of the characters going through the hardships of life with courage and humor. I also loved the imagination aspect that, I think, gives this road movie depth and originality. I was joined on board by Karim Aïtouna, from French company Haut Les Mains Productions, who was sensitive to Amel's style and original way to mix social criticism with comedy without falling into clichés. He also wanted to take part in bringing this new voice to the screen. After 5 years of development, we managed to shoot “Tunis-Djerba”. We went for it, even if we didn’t have all the money secured, but the team believed so much in the project that we wanted it to come to light as soon as possible. Distribution wise, we see “Tunis-Djerba” as an arthouse mainstream with feel-good moments. Its natural first audiences are Arab and Mediterranean youngsters who may feel related to the characters’ issues and adventures. The film may also be appealing to Western movie selective audiences who look for diversity and are interested in Arab and African social issues.
Atlas Vision is a Tunisian-based medium-sized production company. It produced several short films like award-winning Amine Chiboub’s "Why Me?", and Amel Guellaty’s "Black Mamba". The company also produces commercials and TV content and provides line production services for foreign projects. Atlas Vision is currently post-producing Amel Guellaty’s "Tunis-Djerba" and developing emergent directors’ features, like Firas Khoury's "Dear Tarkovsky".