Clay Dolls

Tunisia, France, Morocco

2002

100 Min

Color

French, Arabic

Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
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PROD Hassen Daldoul, Abdelaziz Ben Mlouka

DP Gilberto Azevedo, Tarek Ben Abdallah

CAST Hend Sabri, Ahmed Hefiane, Oumeyma Ben Afsia, Lotfi Abdelli

ED Catherine Emery, Anita Fernández

The film tells the story of three inextricably linked characters trying to survive in desperate circumstances. Omrane earns his living by recruiting poor children from the countryside to become maidservants to the nouveau riches in Tunis. Whether he can keep his promise to guard their chastity is another matter. One of his older charges, the beautiful but rebellious Rebah (Hind Sabri), falls for the temptations of the big city and the freedom it offers. Meanwhile, it is through the eyes of Omrane’s most recent recruit, the nine year-old Fedhah, who rides wide-eyed on the back of Omrane’s motorized three-wheeler, that we witness the excitement and danger of the fast moving Tunisian capital. —Arab Film Festival

Director

Nouri Bouzid

Director, screenwriter, actor and poet, Nouri Bouzid was born in Sfax, Tunisia in 1945. He began filmmaking studies in 1968 at Institut National des Arts du Spectacle et Techniques de Diffusion (INSAS) in Brussels. He graduated in 1972 with a short film, Duel (1972). Returning to Tunisia he worked, from 1972 to 1973 in Tunisian television but was then arrested and jailed for over five years (1973-79) for his involvement with the radical Groupe d’Etude et d’Action Socialiste Tunisian (GEAST). After his release he worked as an assistant director on several foreign films shooting in Tunisia, including Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Key to Rebecca (1985) (TV). He also assisted on many Tunisian features as well as working on screenplay adaptations and dialogue for several important Tunisian films in the 90s such as Halfawin ’Usfur Stah (1990) by ‘Ferid Boughedir’.

He made his directorial debut in 1986 with Rih essed (Man of Ashes) which won the top prize at the Carthage Film… read more