TUNISIA / A “ciné-ferme” in a green-house in Ghardaïa

While there are no more than a dozen cinemas in the whole of Tunisia – concentrated mainly in Tunis – Adnène Helali has launched an original initiative in the town of Ghardaia (in the north-east), a “ciné-ferme” or farm-cinema.

A teacher and organizer of Printemps de Sbeïtla, a festival combining music, dance and theatre, Helali has built a cinema inside a greenhouse, on open farmland.

With a screen, a computer, a projector as the only equipment, and seating made out of oat hulls, the farm-cinema welcomed its first spectators in late February, packing the house with screenings of short films for children. Eventually, Adnène Helali hopes to organize other screenings as well as cultural workshops on cinema, with the participation of volunteers.

“The villagers can’t go to culture, so culture must come to them,” he explains. “Ciné-ferme is an attempt to fill a void in rural areas, villages and mountains with film and art. In these fields we not only sow wheat, we also sow cinema in abandoned greenhouses to ensure good harvests.”

Despite the promise of the Tunisian President, Beji Caid Essebsi, to increase the number of cinemas across the country, the situation remains depressing. At the moment any new initiative depends on individuals, such as last November’s reopening of Cinévog du Kram (in northern Tunisia) after 20 years inactivity. In the absence of state support, the director Moncef Dhouib financed the renovation with the help of sponsors and the public.

Sources : Kapitalis, La Presse de Tunisie, RFI, Tekiano