The ‘Cinema on the Move’ initiative turned an open space in Tunisia’s Zaghouan Governorate into a venue for screenings and arts activities, giving children and young people the chance to watch Tunisian films and take part in cultural workshops as part of the ‘Cinema Is Coming’ event.
A mobile cinema brings Tunisian films to Zaghouan
The initiative is based around a mobile cinema inside a large lorry that travels through inland areas without cinemas, in an effort to bring films closer to audiences prevented from accessing them by limited cultural infrastructure. Children in Zaghouan gathered in front of a large outdoor screen to watch the films, rather than travelling to a cinema that is not available in their city.
The programme was not limited to film screenings. It also included workshops on drawing and making signs related to films and cinema, as well as meetings and cultural activities for children and young people, enabling participants to learn about artistic forms of expression and aspects of filmmaking.
Rahma Ayari, a schoolgirl from Zaghouan, said taking part in the experience allowed her to discover things she had not known before. She said the city lacked spaces where children could learn about such activities and experiences, reflecting how access to cinema and culture depends on the availability of institutions able to receive audiences, and not only on their desire to participate.
Mazen Daboussi, head of a cultural club in Zaghouan, said the city had no cinemas at all and that its residents had had little opportunity to learn about cinema and the methods used to produce and make films. He said the ‘Cinema Is Coming’ event had provided an important opportunity for the city’s residents, adding that participants had expressed their happiness and pride in what they had gained and learned through the activities.
‘Cinema on the Move’ initiative addresses the absence of cinemas
The idea for ‘Cinema on the Move’ emerged from the need to address this shortfall by bringing the screening room to audiences, rather than waiting for residents of inland areas to travel to cities where cinemas exist.
The equipped lorry travels between areas lacking permanent cinemas, carrying films and screening equipment, along with an educational and arts programme that broadens the experience beyond viewing alone. The initiative’s coordinator, Khaloud Mili, said the project was not limited to film screenings but also organised various workshops for children and young people.
She added that the Zaghouan stop included screenings of Tunisian films, including new works, alongside related arts activities. She explained that the main aim was to reach inland areas deprived of cinemas, enabling their residents to watch films and benefit from the accompanying programmes.
The initiative adapts to the nature of each area it visits. In Zaghouan, the screenings were held outdoors, while it had previously used historic and cultural spaces at other stops, including the Water Temple. Its activities have also reached other cities and areas, including El Nadhour.
Public spaces confront unequal access to culture
This approach gives public space a temporary function as a place for screening, learning and interaction, rather than confining film activity to traditional cinemas. The experience raises the issue of the uneven distribution of cultural institutions and spaces among Tunisia’s regions, and the resulting differences in residents’ ability to access artistic production.
Although the mobile cinema cannot replace a permanent cinema or an integrated cultural infrastructure, it gives areas lacking such facilities a temporary opportunity to watch films and take part in artistic experiences that are not usually available to their residents.
Critic calls for broader funding for initiative and cinema
Cultural critic Jihane Turki said annual support for cinema in Tunisia ranged between 5 and 6 million dinars, equivalent to approximately 1.6 and 1.9 million dollars. She said these resources were not enough to speak of film production capable of turning the sector into an industry in its own right, given the needs linked to production, distribution and reaching audiences.
At the same time, Turki described ‘Cinema on the Move’ as a pioneering experience because it brings cinema to remote areas where the art has little actual presence and which have no cinemas. She said bringing films to those areas was ‘a wonderful thing’, noting that civil society was performing a role in this field that the state should have undertaken by reaching underserved areas and organising screenings there.
The critic added that the initiative needed more funding to continue and expand its work, stressing that civil society’s contribution had been significant to the success of the experience.
In Zaghouan, the project’s impact was evident in children’s participation in the workshops and their discovery of various forms of expression. Some also encountered aspects of filmmaking for the first time that had not been available in their city, linking cultural justice to bringing artistic production to audiences regardless of their geographical location.
