Dora Bouchoucha

Patron of La Fabrique Cinéma 2023 de l'Institut français

In the world of film, who doesn’t dream of going to Cannes? My first experience wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, I wasn’t aware of the social codes, got lost in the Palace’s labyrinths and thrown off the red carpet.
Over the years, I have become a regular thanks to my work as a producer, mentor and festival director. I have discovered the festival’s mysteries and learnt how to navigate its world.
The past decade has been one of intense emotions, with the selection to the Directors’ Fortnight of Weidi, the feature film by Mohamed Ben Attia who I have been accompanying as producer since the beginning of his career; to the Official Selection of Souad, the Egyptian feature film which I co-produced; and the various selections of films I have accompanied during their screenwriting and production as part of the Southern Writing Workshops (Ateliers Sud Écriture).
Many of these films also took part in La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut français, and to be patron this year is in keeping with the annual mentorship I began in 1997, dedicated to the development of African and Arab film.
My ambition has not changed, it is to give a helping hand to young filmmakers from countries where to make a film is a challenge, a truly tall order, and I thank La Fabrique for their relentless support for these efforts.
 
In 2023, Dora Bouchoucha, patron of La Fabrique Cinéma, will accompany 10 directors in the development of their first or second feature film.

Biography

Film producer since 1994, Dora Bouchoucha is a major figure of cinema both in Tunisia and internationally, renowned for her support of arthouse cinema and for her role in the promotion of Arab and African film.
The founder of Nomadis Images, a production company that supports emerging filmmakers from North Africa and the Middle East, Dora Bouchoucha has produced numerous Tunisian and international feature films, short films and documentaries including the series of African short films Africa Dreaming, Sabria by Abderrahmane Sissako, Baraket by Jamila Sahraoui, Red Satin, Buried Secrets, Tunisian Spring and Foreign Body by Raja Amari, Inhebbek Hedi (Best First Feature Award and the Silver Bear for Best Actor – Berlinale 2016), Weldi and Les Ordinaires by Mohamed Ben Attia, and Ghodwa by Dhafer L’Abidine. All her films have been selected at Venice, Cannes and Berlin.
Known for her commitment to the development of cinema in Tunisia and Africa, in 1992 Dora Bouchoucha founded the Atelier des Projets, and later Takmil in 2014 during the Carthage Film Festival (JCC), one of the largest film festival in Africa and the Middle East over which she presided in 2008, 2010 and 2014.
The El Gouna and Luxor Film Festivals in Egypt, the Salé Festival in Morocco and MedFilm in Rome, as well as the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, have paid homage to her career and her support of film and youth in the region. In 2023, the Republic of Burkina Faso decorated her with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres during the FESPACO.

 
The name of Dora Bouchoucha is today a reference in terms of cinema production.

 

 

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