The “Tunis Tout Court” Festival aims to promote the short film format, support young filmmakers, and enhance film criticism. Its ambition is to consolidate a dynamic national scene capable of engaging with international festivals.
The 13th edition of the “Tunis Tout Court” National Professional Short Film Festival concluded Sunday evening at the Ibn-Rachiq Cultural Center, celebrating a new generation of Tunisian film talent. The event, organised by the Tunisian Association for the Promotion of Film Criticism (ATPCC), confirmed its position as a major gathering for short films and visual creation.
The closing ceremony was marked by an emotional moment with the tribute paid to the memory of Fathi Haddaoui, an emblematic figure of Tunisian theater and cinema, who recently passed away.
His career, praised by the entire profession, embodies the festival’s commitment to the transmission and preservation of national cultural memory.
This year’s awards recognized the diversity and vitality of Tunisian cinema. The Best Screenplay award went to Koul Sana Marra (Once a Year) by Ali Marouane Chekki, which also won the Best Performance award for Ahmed Landolssi.
The Best Direction award went to Anis Lassoued for Loading, while 373, rue Pasteur by Ismaïl Louati won the Technical Contribution award. In the critics’ category, Fadwa Mdallel won the Best Critical Article award for her text “Forbidden Thresholds: Between Fantasy and Social Fracture!” as well as the Best Participation in the Writing Workshop award for her reading of the same film.
In total, 16 short films, including two documentaries, were selected from 56 productions submitted to the official competition. Jury president Hadi Khalil praised the visual and narrative audacity of
several works, while emphasising that the short film format requires particular rigour in terms of writing and editing.
Beyond the awards, “Tunis Tout Court” establishes itself as a space for learning and meeting. In addition to screenings, the festival offers workshops for critiques, debates, and training sessions for young directors and screenwriters.
For the ATPCC, the goal is to foster a new generation capable of renewing the codes of Tunisian cinema.
In a context where the seventh art remains a mirror of social tensions and aspirations, Tunisian short films are more than ever a laboratory of ideas and a tool for free expression. Through its inclusive and educational approach, the festival contributes to strengthening the place of cinema in the national cultural debate.
MK/ak/ac/Sf/fss/as/APA