Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania is the only Arab director in the official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Fest. The fact that she is a woman makes it all the more impressive.
Her first feature, Beauty and the Dogs, which screens in the Un Certain Regard, deals with the rape of a young woman by policemen outside a beachfront nightclub in Tunisia, based on a true case that sparked outrage.
Making Social Issues Films like Beauty and the Dog
Kaouther Ben Hania: The real rape case that happened in 2012 in Tunis made a big impression on me. I was struck by the courage of this girl who persisted in suing the policemen who raped her and I thought it would make a really good story for a movie.
Film’s structure: Nine Chapters
Film Reflecting Tunisia’s Politics
KBH: The policemen are trying to find a way to make the protagonist stop persisting in her accusations. They want to shut her up. But there is no longer a dictatorship in Tunisia. Under the dictatorship, police were more violent and were more free to do whatever they wanted. Now it’s the same policemen, but they know they can’t behave the same way as before. Also, this film could not have been made before the 2011 revolution.
About the Director
The director has previously made other social problems films, Imams Go to School, Challat of Tunis, and Zaineb Hates the Snow.
