Tunis (AFP)

"A son", a family drama on the desperate quest of two parents to find the organ that will save their injured child, subtly brings to the screen the question of family relationships and the limits of the freedom conquered in 2011 in Tunisia.

Several times awarded and enthusiastically welcomed in Tunisia where it has been screened since January, this Franco-Tunisian co-production will be released in France on March 11.

Although this is a first feature film, it is worn by confirmed actors, including the French Sami Bouajila who won the Mostra in Venice for this role, embodying characters caught in moral dilemmas.

"It's a bit like an open-air camera," said Sami Bouajila, who embarked on the adventure conquered by the script and the "sensitivity" of the director Mehdi Barsaoui.

The last short film of this thirty-something, who was already talking about the family, was awarded at the Dubai Film Festival in 2016.

The film takes place in Tataouine, in southern Tunisia, a few months after the 2011 revolution which overthrew Ben Ali's regime, and launched Tunisia in a process of unprecedented democratization.

A wealthy Tunisian family, ideal in appearance, is attacked and finds itself precipitated in a mutation parallel to that which crosses his country when the son Aziz is seriously injured, with a liver transplant as the only hope of survival.

For 1 hour 30 minutes, we follow the frantic race to find a liver, and the obstacles that open the door to organ trafficking.

For lack of information, or fear of violating a possible religious ban, organ donation remains very rare in the Maghreb, a situation that the director is working to change.

"I wanted to talk about it to educate my fellow citizens: the culture of organ donation is not developed in Tunisia, and the waiting list is very long," he deplores.

"A son" has experienced some setbacks - a local official was concerned that a jihadist flag would be raised during filming and the team had to change location.

- "Emancipation" -

But the film uncompromisingly describes the arrangements with the law, corruption and inequality.

"If there is indeed a gain in Tunisia, it is really freedom of expression," rejoices Mehdi Barsaoui.

Disappearing medical records, wicked intermediaries with security forces, bribes: he portrays corruption from the inside, with a realism that was hard to imagine before the 2011 revolution.

Via the question of organ donation, "A Son" questions the concept of paternity, and highlights the limits still existing for individual freedoms in Tunisia, nine years after this revolution which has conquered many public freedoms.

It is the second Tunisian film this year to tackle adultery and sex outside marriage, punishable by five years in prison.

"It is unacceptable that the regime continues to interfere in the private space" by "liberticide" laws, insists the director, calling for mobilization. Several texts protecting individual freedoms, proposed in 2018, have remained a dead letter so far.

"The film also speaks of emancipation, feminine certainly but also masculine", explains Mr. Barsaoui to AFP. "My two main characters, whether man or woman, decide to free themselves at some point from socio-cultural weight, from religious weight, especially from the gaze of society".

Forgive rather than avenge his honor: they emerge from their dilemma from above, drawn by love. "We are all governed by love," said Barsaoui.

In addition to France, "A son" - "Bik Eneich" in Arabic, ie "If I live, it's thanks to you" - will be released in more than 20 Arab and European countries from March .

"It is a source of pride for me, for my team but especially for my country," said Barsaoui. "Tunisians excel in exporting terrorists," he quipped. "I am really delighted that Tunisia is rather exporting a cinematographic vision: what could be better than a film or culture as a window on a country?".

© 2020 AFP