Tunis/Tunisia — Tunisia won three first prizes in the Critics Awards for Arab Films, held by the Arab Cinema Centre (ACC), in the margins of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27, 2023).
Youssef Chebbi was voted best director for his feature film "Ashkal", the Tunisian investigation that was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and won several awards, including the FESPACO 2023 Golden Stallion and the Golden Antigone, the Critics' Prize and the Best Music prize at the Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival in 2022.
The best actor award went to French-Tunisian Adam Bessa for his role in Lotfy Nathan's drama film "Harka".
The prize for best music was awarded to Amine Bouhafa for his musical signature in "Under the Fig Trees."
This is a promising consecration for Bouhafa, who also signed the score for Kaouther Ben Hania's feature film "Four Daughters," which is competing for the Palme d'Or this year. After four screenings on May 19 and 20, Ben Hania's film has become the talk of the international press.
The Critics Awards are dedicated to new Arab productions and are presented each year on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.
Launched for the first time in 2017 in the margins of the 70th Cannes Film Festival, the Critics Awards are awarded by an international jury of critics to the best Arab productions in the following categories: Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Music.
