Since its release in cinemas at the end of January, Tunisia’s first horror film has been a huge success, attracting more than 100,000 spectators in the first two weeks — making it a real cinematographic event. Two weeks later that figure had risen to 200,000, a record for a Tunisian film over the last 20 years.
The first feature by young filmmaker Abdelhamid Bouchnak, Dachra is also the first Tunisian production to make a profit purely from box-office takings. Distributed by Hakka Distribution, Dachra did not receive any funding from the Ministry of Culture and features almost unknowns in the cast.
The central characters are three journalism students, Yasmine, Walid and Bilel. As part of their studies, their teacher asks them to do an investigative report on an original subject, so they decide to look into a case which has never been resolved: twenty-five years ago a woman was found with her throat almost cut. Today she is in a psychiatric ward, suspected of witchcraft. The students’ investigation leads them to an isolated village in the backwoods of Tunisia — Dachra. There is something threatening about the place, and when the village chief, an odd man, invites them to stay for the night, Yasmine finds herself mixed up with Dachra’s heavy secrets.
According to director Abdelhamid Bouchnak, the script is based on superstitions and rites which are still current in Tunisia. Now, faced with the film’s success, Bouchnak has said he wants to see a new cinema emerge in his country. “The aim is not to be the first, the only, or the best, but to be the start of a new wave.”
Dachra has been been shown at many international festivals. Selected for the International Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival, it competed in the International Competition of the 2018 Etrange Festival and was screened at the Cairo International Film Festival.
Sources: https://en.qantara.de, https://www.huffpostmaghreb.com, http://kapitalis.com
