Supported by the European Union in Tunisia, this initiative carried by CinémaTdour invites us to see, listen, dream together at the crossroads of image, environment, and social bond.
The Press — From the lush coastline of Tabarka to the oasis dunes of Nefta, the first edition of the Cinéma Jet festival transforms Tunisian landscapes into living screens. A traveling, free, and open-to-all cinema that makes culture a promise kept, where it is often absent.
Supported by the European Union in Tunisia, this initiative carried by CinémaTdour invites us to see, listen, dream together at the crossroads of image, environment, and social bond. From September 12 to 21, 2025, in Tabarka (Jendouba), and from October 10 to 19 in Nefta (Tozeur), the Cinéma Jet festival offers a unique cultural experience: a cinema that comes to meet the public, in the forests of the North as in the oases of the South. Conceived by the Delegation of the European Union in Tunisia, in partnership with the CinémaTdour initiative, this project is part of a clear will: to democratize access to culture, everywhere, for all. In Tabarka, the screenings will take place outdoors, carried by CinémaTdour's mobile screen. Then, the festival will take the road to the desert on board the traveling cinema truck, to deploy its canvas in Nefta. Two formats, two atmospheres, one single objective: to make cinema a bridge between regions, an invitation to share stories, emotions, and ideas, beyond geographical and social borders. With the active participation of inhabitants, young people, artists, and experts, Cinéma Jet reminds us of an essential truth: culture is not a luxury, it is a right. Far from elitist logic, this festival inscribes cinema in local realities: it listens, looks, questions, awakens. Each screening becomes a space for exchange, each activity a lever for emancipation. This first edition gives a central place to the environment, through workshops on recycling and valorization of forest and oasis products; cleaning campaigns (notably on Tabarka beach); educational activities for children and adolescents, such as Green Kids Lab and Techy Kids.
Cinéma Jet is part of an eco-cultural approach, where nature and society are treated as partners, not as backdrops. The cinematographic selection combines short and feature films, animated films, and new releases from Tunisian and European cinema, with screenings dubbed for children thanks to actor Mohamed Houssin Grayaa. Two national focuses enrich this edition: Spanish cinema, proposed by the Spanish Embassy in Tunisia; Italian cinema, honored with a musical evening directed by Francesca Badalini, in partnership with the Italian Embassy. In addition, there will be concerts, cine-concerts, cultural evenings, as well as film-making workshops with smartphones; open meetings with filmmakers; discussion spaces around cultural and social issues. Launched in 2024 in Gabès, CinémaTdour is a cinema on wheels: a truck equipped to accommodate 100 spectators, which travels the country's roads to reach those who are left behind by traditional theaters. Initiated by the Agora Djerba Cultural Center and the Focus Gabès association, this experience has already brought together over 35,000 people in just one year. A concrete, visible, and deeply human impact. Beyond films, CinémaTdour is also workshops for children and young people; artistic performances; awareness-raising actions carried out on the ground and online. Cinéma Jet does not claim to change everything. But it chooses to act where culture is cruelly lacking. It offers moments of collective light, in a Tunisia traversed by contrasts but united by the need to come together. This festival is an invitation, to see differently, to listen together, to dream equally. One projection, one meeting, one gesture at a time.
