Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival
مهرجان موجودين للأفلام الكويرية
Location(s)Tunis, Tunisia
CountryTunisia
Founded2018
FoundersMawjoudin
Websitequeerfilmfestival.mawjoudin.org

The Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival (Arabic: مهرجان موجودين للأفلام الكويرية, romanized: mahrajān Mawjūdīn li-l-aflām al-kwīriyya) is an annual film festival in Tunisia celebrating the LGBT community. It began in 2018, as the first queer film festival in the country and all of North Africa.[1][2][3] It is organized by Mawjoudin, a Tunisian NGO whose name translates to "[we] exist".[1] The focus is on queer identities, especially in people from the Global South.[4]

Motivation

The festival aims to create a space for queer people that is neither heteronormative nor homophobic. Because of security reasons, the location of the festival is not disclosed; people interested in participating in the festival first need to get in contact with the organizers.[5]

The organizers see the festival as a form of activism: "We are trying to fight not only in the courts but through art."[1]

History

First edition

Bracelets from the 2019 Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival

The first festival took place from January 15–18, 2018. It received funding support from the Hirschfeld Eddy Foundation.[6] Major themes were gender and non-heteronormative sexuality.[2] In addition to showing 12 short- and medium-length films,[7] the festival included concerts, debates, and the panel discussions "Queer as Art" and "Queer as Resistance".[2][8]

Second edition

The second edition of the festival was March 22–25, 2019, in downtown Tunis.[9][10] The 2019 festival aimed to cover the full LGBTQI spectrum, and have a strong focus on feminism. A total of 31 films were shown, including Argentinian, Chinese, Indian, Kenyan, Pakistani, Portuguese, and Tunisian films.[5][10] In addition to films, there were performances, debates, and a theater workshop entitled "Towards a Queer Theater".[5]

Third edition

The third edition of the festival planned between the 20th and 23 March 2020[11] was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Films

At the 2018 festival, "Upon The Shadow" was screened on the opening day. The film is a Tunisian docudrama by Nada Mezni Hafaiedh,[7] which received recognition at the Carthage Film Festival.[2]

Films screened during the festival in 2019 include:[10][12]

  • "Extravaganza", a Chinese documentary by Matthew Baren
  • "Rafiki", a Kenyan film by Wanuri Kahiu
  • "Sisak", a silent short film by Faraz Arif Ansari
  • "Today Match at Three", an Argentinian film by Clarisa Navas about women's football in the wake of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
  • "Travesty", a documentary by Safwen Abdellali that follows the story of a transgender person
  • "A Tribord, Je Vomis", by Tarek Sardi, co-produced by festival organizers Mawjoudin
  • "Ymin el Baccouche", by Tarek Sardi, which denounces biphobia

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tunisia 'queer film festival' seeks to make a difference". News24. January 17, 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Anissa Mahdaoui (January 11, 2018). "L'association tunisienne "Mawjoudin" lance le premier festival traitant des genres et de la sexualité non normative de la région MENA" [The Tunisian association "Mawjoudin" launches the first festival dealing with gender and non-normative sexuality in the MENA region] (in French). HuffPost Tunisie. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Reportage Afrique - Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival: le premier festival de cinéma LGBT en Tunisie". RFI (in French). February 20, 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival". Radical Film Network. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival : Le cinéma comme arme de résistance" [Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival: Cinema as a Weapon of Resistance] (in French). Kapitalis. March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  6. ↑ "L'association Mawjoudin lance le premier festival Queer en Tunisie" [The Mawjoudin association launches the first Queer festival in Tunisia] (in French). Kapitalis. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Colin Steward (January 23, 2018). "Tunisia gets its first queer film festival". 76crimes.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  8. ↑ "L'association Mawjoudin lance son 1er Queer Film Festival du 15 au 18 janvier" [The Mawjoudin association launches its 1st Queer Film Festival from January 15 to 18] (in French). tekiano. January 12, 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Majowdin Queer Film Festival". Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 "Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival: Tunis célèbre la culture inclusive" [Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival: Tunis Celebrates Inclusive Culture] (in French). HuffPost Maghreb. March 21, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Mawjoudin Queer film festival". Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ "2e édition de Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival, du 22 au 25 mars à Tunis" [2nd edition of Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival, March 22–25 in Tunis]. femmesdetunisie.com (in French). March 21, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
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