Tunis-Djerba

Amel Guellaty a participé au workshop LIM | Less is More en 2020 pour le développement de son premier long-métrage « Tunis-Djerba ».

Synposis

Alyssa, une jeune rebelle de 19 ans, et son meilleur ami, Mehdi, 23 ans, timide et introverti, utilisent leur imagination pour échapper à leur triste réalité. Un jour, ils découvrent un concours qui se tient à Djerba et qui pourrait leur permettre de changer leur vie. Ils décident de faire le road trip, peu importent les obstacles.

Intentions

In TUNIS- DJERBA I wanted to talk about a youth plagued by the lack of jobs, infrastructure and culture, a generation that sees emigration as the only solution.

This movie depicts the harsh reality of two best friends, Alyssa 18 and Mehdi 23. It was essential for me to write a relationship without a romantic dimension to it. A real friendship between a boy and a girl, especially in the Arab world. Also it was crucial to me to treat lightly and with humour all those serious topics.

The character’s personalities and their discussions set the tone and bring lightness to the film. The morose reality of their life is counterbalanced by their overflowing imagination. The dreams of Alyssa are mixed with her reality without any specific editing or calibration change, As for Mehdi, he spends his days drawing surrealist images linked to stories he tells his friend, “Do you know how clouds are created?” he asks her.

All these elements bring to the film a surreal and poetic side that contrasts with a hard reality.