Films in production or post-production
AGORA
Synopsis
In a remote, secluded town, enigmatic missing people return. Tension builds. Fathi, a local police inspector, tries to unravel the mystery with the help of Amine, his friend and a doctor. Fathi investigates, Amine analyses; but they soon find themselves frozen in the face of the strange phenomenon. Another inspector arrives from the capital to solve the case. A rift develops between those who are prepared to welcome the ghosts and those who see their return as a curse. A support team of doctors arrives from the capital, above all to prevent rumors from spreading. What do the disappeared have in common? Is there still time to understand why they are here? This community is the scene of questions and encounters, in the arena of the town and under the gaze of mysterious blue dogs.
Amine Messaidi
Ala Eddine Slim
Rami Harrabi, Ismael Lassoued, Ghassen Ben Brahim
Neji Kanawati, Bilel Slatnia, Majd Mastoura, Sonia Zarg Ayouna
Exit Productions (Tunisia)
Ala Eddine Slim
slim.alaeddine@gmail.com
Cinenovo (France)
Julie Viez
julie@cinenovo.com
Director’s statement
What should we do about those who have disappeared without explanation? Should we forget them or try to understand what has happened? Agora poses questions surrounding collective memory, the memory that obstructs and that reminds us of the failings of state officials. The film deals with the ambiguous and unhealthy relationship between political and religious power, and its desire to cover things up and move forward by choosing not to find viable solutions. In Agora, human beings persist in making mistakes under the gaze (or in the dream) of a blue dog and a black crow. These animals will be the only witnesses to human folly. Agora is the possibility of a place that will be contaminated and cursed, like all places in territory populated by humans.
Biographies
Ala Eddine Slim was born in Sousse, Tunisia, in 1982. A free-spirited filmmaker, in each of his films he develops a singular universe, and is particularly interested in the themes of marginality, wandering, change, and territory. His films include Babylon (2012), co-directed with Youssef and Ismaël Chebbi, which won the Grand Prize in the international competition at FIDMarseille; The Last of Us (2016), which won the Lion of the Future Prize at the Venice International Film Festival; and Tlamess (2019), which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes.
Exit Productions, a breeding ground for emerging Tunisian filmmakers who receive support for their first film, is characterised by its commitment to free cinema. Since its creation, Exit has produced more than 20 films, which have been selected for and won prizes at numerous festivals, among them the Busan and Venice International Film Festivals, the Festival de Cannes, FIDMarseille, and the Viennale.
Founded in 2012 by Julie Viez, Cinenovo has produced films including Alex Carvalho’s The Salamander (2021), a selection of the Venice International Film Festival; Lotfy Nathan’s Harka (2022), which won the Best Actress Award at the Festival de Cannes; and Return to Reason (2023), a collection of short films by Man Ray that was presented at Cannes. Cinenovo is currently in post-production with Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour tristesse and Ala Eddine Slim’s Agora.
€623 593
€482 500
Red Sea Fund, Fonds de coproduction franco-tunisienne, CNC, CNCI, AFAC, Hakka Distribution
May—June, Tunisia
Spring 2024
