The International Festival of Cinema and Common Memory in Nador returns for its fourth edition, from 4 to 9 May, on the theme "Africa and the Mediterranean: memory of shared horizons". Tunisia will be the guest of honour this year. And the jury will be chaired by the writer and researcher Mohamed Tozi.
The choice of Tunisia as guest of honour for this fourth edition of the Nador International Festival of Cinema and Common Memory is very significant. And for good reason, the experience it has gone through in recent years has resulted in a distinguished democratic transition, as highlighted by the festival organisers, who are planning for this purpose a conference entitled "The Tunisian Lesson" to debate this democratic experience with international experts, politicians, academics, and Tunisian artists. "This is, moreover, the objective of the Centre for Common Memory for Democracy and Peace since its creation, to celebrate the memory of the Mediterranean, its people, and to pay tribute to them for everything they do or have done throughout history.
This festival was created to constitute a space for exchange and questioning about everything that is happening in this region and to make it known to everyone, in order to build bridges of friendship and solidarity between peoples, by thinking together about the issues that can separate us and dislocate our peoples. We try, every year, to develop our theme, in relation to what is happening as current events. It is an opportunity for a better understanding of oneself and the other for more tolerance," specifies Abdesslam Bouteyeb, Director General of the Festival and President of the Centre for Common Memory for Democracy and Peace. Hence the choice of films, mostly, aimed at closing distances and creating a space for discussion, exchange, debate, and reflection. Thus, feature films and documentaries, produced in 2013-2014 by Moroccan, African, and Mediterranean filmmakers, will be screened during this edition and judged, respectively, by two specialised juries, the first of which is chaired by the writer and researcher Mohamed Tozi and the second by Ali Safi. The Scientific Committee will, moreover, be headed by the Sudanese journalist and researcher Talha Jibril.
The three presidents will be accompanied by thinkers, filmmakers, politicians, and artists coming from Africa and Europe. As every year, the festival pays tribute to personalities who have shone in the world of arts and culture. The choice has thus fallen on the Egyptian actress Nabila Oubaid who has given a great deal to the seventh art, the artist Marcel Khalifé, in his capacity as a peace ambassador, the Moroccan filmmaker Saâd Chraibi for his activism for equality and freedom, then all the actors, directors, producers, and technicians who worked on the series "Tamimount", to reward them for their struggle to enhance the Amazigh language and culture. Also to be honoured during this edition are the President of the Argentine Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, Lucrecia Cardoso, and the media figure Ali Hassan, known for his programme "Thursday Cinema", then the actor Mohamed Choubi who distinguished himself in various cinematic roles. Recognition will also go to the Amazigh-speaking singer Mimount Selouane and the Panafrican Film Festival, as well as Ouagadougou Television. During this edition, round tables are planned which will allow the public to follow the debate on the various African and Mediterranean dynamics, workshops for initiation into directing and screenwriting led by specialists in the field, training dedicated to "media professions and practices", a poetry evening, and charitable actions.
