International Pavilion of the Day: Tunisia

Situated along the Croisette, the Tunisia pavilion is back in Cannes, for the fifth year. Back in 2006, the pavilion was created by the country's producers' union, La Chambre Syndicate nationale des producteurs du films, whose vice-president, Lotfi Layounie, is this year's pavilion coordinator. The original goal of the pavilion was to attract foreign production to Tunisia. Layounie explained to "Cannes Market News" that there are "good postproduction services [in Tunisia] and great locations. And for many countries [Tunisia's] prices are very competitive" including offers of tax breaks for overseas producer's. In the past Tunisia has been host to some larger films including: George Lucas' "Star Wars," Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and Anthony Minghella's "The English Patient," and its a goal of the pavilion to increase the number of films made there. Some results of the pavilion includes Raja Amari's "Buried Secrets," and "Let it Be" directed by Italy's Guido Chiesa. For "Buried Secrets," the pavilion served as a meeting place for discussions and deals regarding the film. 

Tunisia Pavilion             -Rebecca Sokoloff