Scenes from a Revolt Sustained
Spring Grant 2011 - Production Stage
Kays Mejri, Matt Peterson / Feature Documentary / France, Tunisia, United States of America, Qatar / 57 min / Colour / Original Language: English, French / Interests: Documentary, Politics, History, Social Issues, Education
Synopsis
Examining the culture and history of Tunisia and how it has been mediated or ignored by the Western lens, the film follows the events of January 2011, which culminated in the toppling of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The film looks both backward and forward from this point of inspiration for pro-democracy revolutionary movements worldwide. Directors Kays Mejri and Matt Peterson use distinct approaches in collaborating on a documentary that is part essayistic ethnography, part political portrait and part touristic travelogue.
Credits
- Director
- Kays Mejri, Matt Peterson
- Screenwriter
- Kays Mejri
- Producer
- Thameur Mejri
About the Director
Kays Mejri is a Tunisian filmmaker. He has lived in Tunis and New York, and is currently based in Montreal. As a director, he has worked with Thameur Mejri to create four short films, which have screened and won awards at festivals in the USA, Syria and Tunisia. As a first assistant and co-director, he worked on a number of film and television productions, including the short film ‘Perversion’, which was screened at Cannes, Melbourne, Carthage and Montpellier. He also worked on ‘The Unreturned’ (2010), Nathan Fisher’s features documentary about Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria. Mejri recently signed a development contract with Hot Smoked Pictures in Montreal to direct a feature film.
Matt Peterson is an archivist, curator and writer based in New York City. His work in film and video has been shown at artist spaces, community gardens, cultural centres, galleries, lofts, microcinemas, movement centres, museums, squats, television stations, theatres, and universities throughout the United States and Europe. He works with the radical artist collectives Red Channels and the 16 Beaver Group.