The American director of Egyptian origin Lotfy Nathan presented this May 19 his film Harka in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. It is the story of a young man, Ali, revolted against the ubiquitous corruption and injustice in his country, Tunisia. A dive into the Tunisian reality of those who have remained in the country, ten years after the “Jasmine Revolution” and the “Arab Spring”. Maintenance.
RFI : What means “ Harka » ?
Lotfy Nathan : Harka has a double meaning. In Tunisia, it is slang for illegal migration across the Mediterranean to Europe. And that also means self-immolation.
Harkais it the portrait and the story of a single man, Ali, or of an entire country, Tunisia ?
I stick to the story of one man, Ali. It’s a more flexible way to tell this story. It always stays focused on one character, even though I think he represents a much larger group. Everything stays in orbit around Ali.
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Many things remind us of the Arab Spring which began in Tunisia in December 2010, after the self-immolation by fire of Mohamed Bouazizi, a young street vendor, and the resignation of Tunisian President Ben Ali in January 2011. We find in your films corruption, poverty, unemployment, distress, injustice and also the young traveling salesman. Your film, could it also have been called Ten years after 2011 ?
Yes, that would be an interesting title. It could have been called that…
The very big difference between your film and the Arab Spring is that your protagonist Ali remains almost always alone to rise up and revolt against the omnipresent injustice in society. Otherwise, everyone does with it and looks elsewhere. At the beginning of the film, you tell the story of a lake discovered in the middle of a desert. A tale. A dream. A miracle. Except, at some point, we discover that it is an abyss, a phosphorus mine. And the poisoned water turns black. Do you have an explanation why people keep swimming in this lake ?
No, I don’t have an explanation for that myself. The film is about shattered dreams and people’s need to hold on to some kind of aspiration. Otherwise, they would have nothing to believe in and nowhere to go. This is what the film highlights.
We follow the character of Ali who is against this rotten society from top to bottom, who has left his family, but who is forced to accept illegal jobs and give money to the police to survive. At first, he is fully occupied with himself and his dream of leaving the country to seek a better future in Europe. But after the death of his father, he takes care of his two little sisters and tries to ensure a future for them. On the other hand, he no longer sees a future for himself. Does he belong to a lost generation ?
Yes, the film is about this lost generation. The story is made to show in an accessible way how someone can find themselves short of means and in desperate need. The film is about the chain reaction that follows.
You are an American filmmaker from a Coptic Egyptian family and born in England. You yourself have declared : “ I have always felt a little outside the Arab world and the Western world. When we see the way you film people (local, non-professional actors, apart from the main role wonderfully played by Adam Bessa) and the traveling shots of your camera to capture the landscapes of Tunisia, we feel a great love for the men and women of this country. What is your relationship with Tunisia ?
We spent a lot of time developing this story in Tunisia, we did a lot of research. I really liked the people I met there and the places, the setting. I saw him as a foreigner. I may have romanticized it. While making these trips, these car journeys to the Libyan border, I often thought of westerns. We mentioned this aspect in the film. It was a somewhat whimsical and poetic way of approaching the subject, in an intuitive way. I ended up leaning on the fact that I was an outsider in my aesthetic choices. But I think it’s an interesting marriage.
Why did you choose Tunisia and not Egypt, Morocco or Algeria for your film ?
It all started with the origins of the revolution. The starting point was a small Tunisian town, Sidi Bouzid. We were able to film where the revolution began. This has always been my goal. And maybe it also comes from my experience as a documentary filmmaker. I needed a place to focus on. To have a landmark somewhere to make the film.
This is your first fiction film. At one point, Ali’s little sister, who is learning the language, mentions a phrase in French: ” Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not guide you. Walk right beside me and be my friend. » Is this also your common thread for filming ?
I think that’s a good motto, a pretty sound motto. It’s by Albert Camus. For the shoot, I put this motto into practice. It was very collaborative. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to handle this film, already with the language barrier. This movie was a lot of walking next to each other.
In your 2013 documentary film, 12 O’Clock Boy, you told the story of a gang in Baltimore, also in a context of poverty and despair for many people. Do you see parallels between the situation in Baltimore and Tunisia ?
There are parallels everywhere. What is similar is this abstract form of rebellion. When society drags you down. For me, it’s a parallel that I discovered here at the Cannes Film Festival, when I spoke to people about the film here.
This is your first film and you have already been selected in the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. What does this mean to you ?
It’s really exciting, amazing. Yesterday I saw Top Gun with Tom Cruise. It was awesome.
And for your film and your career, what are you waiting for ?
I try not to expect anything. Let’s see what will happen. With any luck, I’ll have the opportunity to direct the project for my next film, a horror film, and bring it here.