Tunisia offers tourists more than just sea, surf and sand
The relationship between Lucas and Tunisians started in the 1970s. The first Star Wars episode was filmed in Tunisia. Lucas is said to appreciate the special lighting in the desert. McCallum noted “ there is a feel to the light, the buildings, the architecture, it is unique in the world.” The relationship between Lucas and Tunisia has grown stronger throughout the years and could be characterized as one of mutual benefit. The receipts from the ticket sales for the first showing of Episode One: The Phantom Menace in Tunisia were donated to the National Solidarity Fund, which benefits impoverished areas in Tunisia. The Tunisian desert lends itself particularly well to futuristic scenes. More recently, it served as the apocalyptic scenery for a futuristic dark comedy filmed by Cedric Klapish, a French director. An entire neighborhood of Paris in year 2065 was re-created in the middle of the Tunisian desert. Steven Spielberg also chose Tunisia to film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and Anthony Minghella used the desert to re-create wartime North Africa in the critically acclaimed film “The English Patient.” Aside from lending its landscape to international filmmakers, Tunisia has made its own marks in the international film industry. Tunisian directors and their movies are recognized more than are those from any other Arab country. Among the country’s best- known directors are Moufida Tlatli’s whose “Silence of the Palace” won the special prize at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and Faid Bougdir whose film about religious tolerance “La Goulette” received international acclaim. Director Kalthoum Bornaz’s “Keswa,” a film about a recently divorced Tunisian woman, also has received international recognition.