Tunis/Tunisia — The Tunisian film "Under the Fig Trees", by director Erige Sehiri, will open the 20th edition of the Tarifa-Tangier African Film Festival (FCAT) with a simultaneous screening on both shores of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the opening day of the festival which will be held from April 28 to May 7, 2023.

This feature film, which is the director's first fiction film and which was presented at the "Quinzaine des Cinéastes" of the Cannes Film Festival, was screened in several festivals in Europe, Africa and America. It was also on the list of Tunisian films selected for the Oscar for best international film. The same is true of Alcarrás, by Carla Simón, a film with which 'Under the Fig Trees' has many similarities, not only in the story it tells, but also in the atmosphere, the treatment and the way it is shot with non-professional actors and actresses.

The 20th edition of the FCAT will open simultaneously in Tarifa and Tangiers. The Moroccan city will host an opening gala in the recently renovated Alcazar Cinema, a symbol of Spanish cinema during the Protectorate. This event is being organised in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute in Tangiers and the Spanish Embassy in Morocco, and will be attended by the Tunisian director Erige Sehiri, who will present the opening film.

The Tarifa-Tangiers African Film Festival (FCAT) will celebrate its 20th anniversary in the 2023 edition, revealing the cinematographic productions of the African continent and becoming a reference point for African cinema, both in the Spanish-speaking world and in Europe. This year, the FCAT will resume its activity on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar, in order to continue forging diversity and cultural dialogue between the two continents.