Railway Men
Spring Grants 2017 - Post-Production Stage
Erige Sehiri / Feature Documentary / Tunisia, France, Qatar / 2017 / 75 min / Original Language: Arabic / Interests: Road Trip, Social Issues, Creative Documentary
Synopsis
Four Tunisian railway employees are assigned to Line #1. They call it “the normal way” because it is the only one built to international norms, but it is also the most neglected. Crossing the breath-taking landscapes of the north, the old locomotive has to be constantly repaired. The grandson of a train driver, Ahmed has recently joined the company and learns on-the-job alongside his fellow railroaders. As time goes by, he begins to realise the immense risks that he and his colleagues face every day. Between the half-abandoned tracks, a young colleague of Ahmed, Abee, shares with him his love of rap music, while Najib, the master of a small rural railway station nearby spends his solitary life tirelessly shifting trains. Seemingly the only one among the railroaders who refuses to work in these dangerous conditions, Issam begins to document the hazards he sees. Provoked by his behaviour, the railway company transfers Issam to their ticketing department. When two serious train accidents occur, there is public uproar and the media turns to Issam, but he has been fired.
Credits
- Director
- Erige Sehiri
- Screenwriter
- Erige Sehiri
- Producer
- Palmyre Badinier
- Production Company
- Les Films de Zayna
About the Director
Erige Sehiri is a Tunisian-French journalist and documentary filmmaker. She directed several short documentaries and worked as an independent journalist for international broadcast channels. Since 2011, she committed herself, in Tunisia, to the development of new participative media and co-founded the Tunisian webzine 'Inkyfada'. Previous credits include 'Railway Men' (2018).
Contacts
-
Main Contact
Palmyre Badinier
- Company:
- Akka Films
- Phone:
- (0) 22 345 11 70
- Email:
- palmyre@zayna.fr / p.badinier@akkafilms.ch