Independent Syndicate of Filmmakers and Producers Speaks Out on Carthage Film Festival
In a public statement, the Independent Syndicate of Filmmakers and Producers indicates that since its creation, the Carthage Film Festival (JCC) has always been a collective property belonging to film professionals, founded on the principle of effective participation of film associations and professional structures in its governance and vision definition. The festival was never conceived as a bureaucratic institution controlled from above, but was born out of film clubs, as a space for resistance and freedom, celebrating cinema from the South, defending liberation and justice causes, and placing art at the service of conscience and emancipation. Any deviation from this co-management principle, any erasure of these constituent structures, constitutes a blatant betrayal of the festival's founding spirit.
That being said, the organizational dysfunctions and administrative shortcomings that marred the current edition must not overshadow the real artistic advances it also brought: a high-quality programming, a renewed cinephilia, strong public mobilization, and a clear commitment to an Arab-African identity in the choice of works. These achievements deserve to be consolidated, not compromised by management failures.
Among the most glaring manifestations of this disorder is the exclusive attribution of logistical responsibilities to the National Center for Cinema and Image, without genuine articulation with the artistic vision, resulting in confusion and dismay to the detriment of the festival's reputation itself.
Similarly, the closing ceremony, marked by the absence of juries and the refusal to communicate their reports to the public, offered a sad example of unilateral decision-making and a propensity for superficial celebrations, in total contradiction with the militant soul of the JCC.
This is why we call for a serious, global, and transparent evaluation, bringing together all film associations, professional structures, and authentic actors in the sector, to rebuild the JCC on its historical foundations: a true artistic and intellectual beacon, free from any tutelage, and never reduced to an instrument serving an agenda foreign to its cultural and emancipatory vocation.
