The 36th Carthage Film Festival kicked off yesterday in Tunisia at the City of Culture's Opera House with the screening of the film "Palestine 36" by director Ann-Marie Jaoude. At the opening ceremony, the Palestinian director expressed her pride in the selection of "Palestine 36" to open the festival, stating that it was "a great honor for the entire film crew, given the harsh conditions in which the film was made." She added that the film was created "during one of the most difficult and worst periods in the history of the Palestinian people," noting that the war in Gaza affected the production process, causing it to stop four times. The festival, running until December 20, will screen 165 films from 23 countries across several official competitions, as well as celebratory programs and parallel sections. Tunisian cinema is represented by 46 films, including 23 feature films and 23 short films. The opening ceremony also included a tribute to Italian-Tunisian actress Claudia Cardinale, as well as honoring the memory of several late filmmakers.
