THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: His films are mirrors for the people in various parts of the world to know about the events that happened in Tunisia during the hard times of dictatorship, said renowned Tunisian film maker Elyes Baccar. He was delivering the Aravindan Memorial Lecture organised as part of the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala, here on Wednesday.
Sharing the hardships faced by film makers in Tunisia during the reign of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as the president, Baccar said that it was so hard for him to believe that 23 years of dictatorship had gone and he was totally free.
“It is really a great feeling to realise that you have that creative freedom now. Now I want the new generation of Tunisia as well as the people across the world to know how we lived under such conditions. By revisiting that memories and making films based on that, I am also making sure that one of the greatest uprisings of our time is not erased as easily as the graffiti on the walls of the deposed government’s buildings,” he said.
Baccar’s next movie will have a woman-oriented theme. “My next movie ‘I am a free woman’ will unfold the story of women issues in Tunisia and the real freedom that a woman wants from the society,” he said.
After the long-time President Ben Ali was ousted in January 2011, the recent elections held in Tunisia saw Muslim parties winning the majority. Asked whether it would affect the creative freedom, Baccar said he believed in people’s power and their unity. “The public is keeping a close watch on the day-to-day activities of the new government. The new government has also offered its support to the creative freedom. Moreover, the opposition parties are also very strong,” he said.
Baccar said that creative freedom and unemployment were two reasons that led to the downfall of Ben Ali. “The new government is very much aware of that fact. The authorities have already announced that they will resolve the issues related with unemployment soon. Social networking sites are very popular in Tunisia. So the government will act sensibly, I think,” he added.