Action Association 216-Tunisia
With the support of Anhar Network and the Human Rights and Resistance Cinema Club, the cinema caravan concluded its second season in the Sahel region of the Republic (Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia governorates), which was titled “Violence, why?”. This activity was held in cooperation with the International Organization Against Torture, the Tunisia office, and the General Authority for Prisons and Reforms. The caravan was launched on the 18th of February and continued until the 18th of June , 2022 in closed spaces including prisons and private halls of all regions of the Republic. The topic of violence was chosen to be the subject of discussions after the screenings due to the spread of this phenomenon in society, which calls for discussing its causes, motives, consequences and how to deal with it in order to reduce it, especially among teens. Therefore, the age groups were chosen from 14 to 17 years, and for adults from 20 to 45 years old. The screenings took place in prisons for men, women, and juvenile prisons for young people, and the total number of attendees reached 1238. The film “White Rage” by Finnish director Arto Halonen, was shocking to the audience, as it discusses bullying and its psycho-social impact on the life of a teenager that leads to the phenomenon of “School Shooting”. This film became required by other prison departments to be screened while scheduling showtimes between them.
In all of these presentations, the discussion took place between the male/female prisoners in the presence and participation of the prison staff, which made the discussion on a high degree of boldness and importance. Forms were also distributed to ask the audience about their definition of violence, their points of view towards this phenomenon, how to deal with it, what did they like about the movie, share their own stories about violence, or anything they would like to say in that regard.
The film “Growing” by director Tariq Al-Rimawi was shown in a courtroom that uses virtual meeting facilities, and it is an animated film about children living in conflict areas and becoming fighting soldiers. This topic sparked an important discussion about the relationship between parents and children and how violence begins in the behavior of children in their relationship with toys, animals, or plants without being educated or directed. Within the framework of the cultural days for the prevention of torture organized by the National Authority for the Prevention of Torture, at the National Library, Action 216, the Cultural Association for Film Action, with the support of Anhar Network, participated in screenings of cinematic films on the 23rd and 24th June 2022. In addition to the films “White Rage” and “Growing”, the film screenings included the Indian film “Washing Machine” by Indian director Anand Singh Chouhan, in addition to a group of Tunisian short films. This activity was distinguished by the fact that the attendees were researchers, specialists, and decision-makers, which raised the level of discussion to address very important legal and human rights issues.
