At a time when Egypt was taking its first steps toward building a film industry that would later become the largest in the Arab world, Tunisia was also moving cautiously to discover the magic of moving images and begin producing its first experiments behind the camera.
Arab cinema had not yet been born in the form we know today, but its seeds were already being planted in several Arab cities.
In Egypt, these early experiments gradually led to the emergence of a vast film industry, associated with several names, including Mohamed Bayoumi and Aziz and Doador, before eventually expanding into the world of commercial production.
In Tunisia, however, the beginning was more individual and was closely associated with the photographer and adventurer Albert Samama Chikly, who moved from documenting Tunisian life to experimenting with narrative filmmaking.
And this is where the story of Tunisian cinema begins: the story of a country that did not simply receive the invention of cinema, but very early on began searching for its own path in front of the camera, even though its film industry continues to face difficulties today.
So, how did this story begin?
The Beginning of the Journey... Before the Industry
Before Tunisian cinema had its own name, institutions, and festivals, moving images arrived in Tunisia as a new invention that sparked curiosity and fascination.
From the late nineteenth century, film screenings began appearing in Tunisia, and cinema halls quickly became spaces where audiences discovered a new world that was unfamiliar to them.
Sources indicate that the first film screenings in Tunisia date back to 1897, while the Omnia-Pathé cinema opened in 1908, making cinema increasingly part of the cultural life of the capital.
Albert Samama Chikly... The Man Who Carried the Camera Before the Industry
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a name emerged that would become closely associated with the birth of Tunisian cinema: Albert Samama Chikly.
A photographer, adventurer, journalist, and filmmaker, Chikly did not view the camera merely as a tool for recording events. Instead, he used it as a means of exploring Tunisia and documenting the details of everyday life.
After producing documentary footage and photographs depicting Tunisian reality, he moved toward a more ambitious experiment: making a Tunisian narrative film.
In 1922, he directed Zohra, considered the first Tunisian narrative film. It was screened in Tunisia on December 21 of the same year.
His daughter, Haydée Samama, played the leading role, making her one of the earliest female faces in the history of Arab cinema.
But Chikly did not stop there...
Two years later came Ain el Ghazal, or The Girl of Carthage, in 1924. The film is considered one of the earliest feature-length films made by a Tunisian, with Haydée once again taking part. Its story explored love, forced marriage, and Tunisian society.
And here begins the paradox:
Tunisia had discovered cinema early, and narrative filmmaking experiments had already emerged in the 1920s. Yet building a continuous Tunisian film industry would take several more decades.
Years of Experience... Without an Industry
Although Tunisia had made an early start, those years of experimentation did not lead to the establishment of a fully developed film industry.
After Albert Samama Chikly's experiments, filmmaking still lacked the structure needed to support regular production, unlike what was beginning to take shape in Egypt during the same period.
The context of French colonial rule also contributed to shaping the country's cinematic landscape. A significant part of the production related to Tunisia was carried out through foreign initiatives, while independent Tunisian efforts struggled to find their place both in front of and behind the camera.
For many years, therefore, cinema in Tunisia remained more of an experiment than an industry.
There were cameras, movie theaters, and films being shot on Tunisian soil, but one question remained:
When would Tunisians have a cinema of their own made by them and telling their stories?
Independence... The Search for a National Cinema
With Tunisia's independence in 1956, a new chapter opened in the country's history, and cinema was not left untouched by this transformation.
As the modern institutions of the Tunisian state were being built, growing attention was also given to culture and the moving image. Gradually, the foundations of what would become a truly national cinema began to emerge.
The goal was no longer simply to produce and screen films. Cinema became a means of raising questions about society and reflecting the transformations taking place within the country.
Tunisian Cinema Today... A Voice Despite the Challenges
Today, more than a century after moving images first arrived in Tunisia, Tunisian cinema is no longer merely a collection of individual attempts or isolated experiments. It has become part of the Arab and African cinematic landscape, with directors, actors, and producers who have established themselves both in Tunisia and abroad.
Despite the limited size of the market and the difficulties of film financing, Tunisian cinema has continued to produce works addressing issues of society, identity, women, memory, and the political and social transformations experienced by the country.
Perhaps one of the most distinctive features of Tunisian cinema today is its diversity of voices. Alongside the filmmakers who shaped earlier generations, a new generation of directors has emerged, bringing different styles and themes to the screen, with several succeeding in reaching major international film festivals.
From Albert Samama Chikly, who carried a camera in the early twentieth century, to Tunisian filmmakers participating today in major international festivals, the cameras have changed, production methods have changed, and audiences have changed...
But one thing has remained constant:
The Tunisian desire to tell their own story... in front of the camera.
Jihen zemzmi
