Tunis (AFP)

For the first time, four Tunisian feature films joined the Netflix catalog in June, recognition for this cinema in full renaissance.

The first Tunisian horror film, "Dachra", which hit the headlines in Tunisia in 2019, or "Noura dream", devoted to the difficulties of a mother to conquer her happiness despite a marriage undermined by violence, will be accessible throughout the region.

"Tunisian films have a capacity to cover important social subjects (...) and this is what interests us most", explains to AFP Nuha Eltayeb, director of content acquisition for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.

"We are looking for stories that stimulate creativity and imagination, which create the conditions for debate," she adds.

After the 2011 revolution, the Tunisian cinema, which was dying slowly, was revived by a young generation which tackled head-on the questions of freedom and equality, daringly bringing to the screen conflicts of the intimate or political, social turmoil and religious dilemmas.

Currently around ten films are made each year, several of which have won international awards.

The director of "Noura rêve", Hinde Boujemaa, said she was "proud" of this "international recognition", hoping that it "will serve as a catalyst to strengthen the place of Tunisian filmmakers in their country".

In total, around forty Arab films have been added recently, according to Netflix. Works by Egyptian directors Yousri Nasrallah and Youssef Chahine and the Algerian film "Papicha", award-winning but censored in Algeria, also joined the platform.

In addition, Tunisian actress based in Cairo Hend Sabri announced on Instagram that she would start filming a soap opera for Netflix in the fall of 2021, about the "Arab woman".

"What interests us particularly are the authentic and local stories", underlines Ms. Eltayeb.

Netflix, which had to delay some of its original productions because of the new coronavirus, however saw its number of subscribers explode during confinement, particularly in the North Africa-Middle East-Turkey region.

Of the nearly 16 million new members worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, 7 million come from this region, according to the financial results published by the platform.

© 2020 AFP