It Was Better Tomorrow
Ya Man Aach
TUNISIA / 2012 / Arabic / Color / Blu-ray / 71 min
Director: Hinde Boujemaa
Photography: Hatem Nechi
Editing: Naima Bachiri
Producers: Habib Attia, Dora Bouchoucha
Source: Nomadis Images
While Tunisia is in the throws of revolution the director meets a woman named Aida on the nation’s chaotic streets. Aida is divorced and cares for her disabled son, wandering the city, searching for empty homes to squat in. Destitute and struggling for nourishment, she nevertheless possesses a strong will to live. Her hardship reveals a darker side of the revolution, an image of Tunisian society as seen from the eyes of an alienated woman.
[Director’s Statement] When I met Aida around January 14, 2011, I was anxious, like so many others, to tell the story of my Tunisia with all the questions and uncertainties I was living in each moment.
A revolution is a unique moment in a lifetime when the country that you know changes from one day to another.
I approached Aida in the street. She seemed to be disconnected from what was happening. This insolent and combative woman takes advantage of the quasi-social chaos to break down doors, coming face to face with neighbours and sometimes with bad surprises. She sees in the revolution an undesired occasion of life change—having to finding a roof to regain custody of her four children.
I followed her for a year and a half.
Hinde Boujemaa
After graduating in marketing from the Institut Economique de Bruxelles, Hinde Boujemaa received training in screenwriting at Educatel in Paris. She then contributed to the scripts of several Tunisian feature films. She directed her first short film in 2008. She developed her feature film script Below Paradise while at the training programmes Meda Film Development and Sud Ecriture. She directed promotional films for the Carthage Film Festival in 2008 and 2010.
Interview