Habib Ayeb – Tunesia – 2014 

For the last NVICinema night of this season we invited a special guest from Tunesia: academic geographer and ecologist Habib Ayeb. He will present his 2 latest documentaries: Fellahin and Gabes Labess (All is well in Gabes).

In ‘Fellahin’ Habib Ayeb and Ray Bush take us to the Tunesian and Egyptian countryside. Through in-depth interviews with farmers we discover the importance of farmer resourcefulness and courage in the aftermath of economic and political turmoil. Small farmers have a strong analytical sense of what is wrong with Egypt’s and Tunesia’s rural development failures. In ‘Fellahin’ they voice their hopes and fears.

‘Gabes Labess’ questions current development models by focusing on the Oasis of Gabes, the only coastal oasis in the world. What was once considered “The Paradise of the World” has been transformed into an economic, social, and ecological catastrophe by the construction, in the 1970s, of an industrial chemical complex that has deprived local farmers of their water, arable land, economic well-being, and personal dignity. In this documentary, Habib Ayeb investigates the deterioration of the Oasis of Gabes due to the presence of an industrial chemical complex. 

The screening of both documentaries will be followed by a Q&A session with Habib Ayeb in which both films and the issues they tackle will be discussed. All your questions are welcome!

Duration: 39 & 47 minutes
Language: Arabic & French (English subtitles)