Gabès Film Festival Navigates Regional Turmoil with Politically Charged Lineup
The southern Tunisian city of Gabès, where Mediterranean oases meet industrial smokestacks, just wrapped its eighth edition of the Gabès Cinema Festival. New director Afef Ben Mahmoud kicked off her tenure with Oliver Laxe’s Moroccan rave-in-the-desert drama *Sirāt* as the closing-night film.
Ben Mahmoud says the choice was instinctive. “There’s something in the landscape of *Sirāt* that echoes Gabès, even though it was shot in Morocco.” The city, four hours south of Tunis, is a place of sharp contrasts: palm groves and turquoise water alongside heavy industry. That duality, she says, makes it a natural home for politically engaged cinema. “Gabès is more activist than the rest of Tunisia. The festival has built a reputation across the Arab world for that engagement—cinema that wants to raise awareness and push for change.”
This year’s program unfolded against the Iran-U.S.-Israel war and the ongoing conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza. Though Gabès is far from the fighting, the region feels the economic tremors. Ben Mahmoud, who lives part-time in Qatar, prepared the festival remotely in March as missiles flew overhead and her children studied online. “Art is an act of resistance,” she says. “If we can touch people and raise awareness, that’s an achievement.”
The lineup reflected that mission. Lebanese composer Cynthia Zaven and sound designer Rana Eid opened with a cine-concert on Palestine. Other highlights included Chechen war drama *Memory*, a Beirut love story set against recent upheaval, and an Iranian family secrets film whose director traveled from Tehran. Tunisian Oscar nominee Kaouther Ben Hania attended for a masterclass and screening of her Gaza documentary *The Voice of Hind Rajab*.
Ben Mahmoud also worked to bridge the festival’s cinema, virtual reality, and video art sections. A standout was the installation *Vivre Encore*, an extension of Nicolas Wadimoff’s documentary on Gaza refugees, leading viewers from gallery to cinema. “I want people to feel they’re at one event, not hopping between festivals,” she says.
Despite the presence of Tunisian stars Hind Sabry and Dhafer L’Abidine at the opening, Ben Mahmoud resists a red-carpet path. “It’s about staying authentic—finding the right projects that fit this festival’s unique focus on the moving image in all its forms.”