Brahim Babaï

Directing

Born: December 18, 1936

Brahim Babaï was a Tunisian film director and producer. Babaï graduated from the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques in 1963, worked for French and Tunisian television, then moved into filmmaking with shorts, documentaries, and finally features. His films are examples of a neorealist cinema of engagement, representing an attempt to reach a wide range of viewers and offer accessible solutions to social problems in Tunisia. His first feature, And Tomorrow? (1971–1972), adapted from Abdelkader Ben Cheikh’s novel, is one of the first Tunisian films to investigate issues of social concern during the 1960s, such as rural exodus, unemployment, and famine. The story follows three rural farmers who leave their drought-stricken village for the city. Babaï’s much later The Night of the Decade (1991), adapted from Mohamed Salah Jerbi’s novel, is a political crime intrigue depicting the Algerian unionization crisis that erupted in violence during the late 1970s. Its story is told through the lens of several students caught up in events. An Odyssey (2001–2004), inspired by Abdelaziz Belkhodja’s novel, The Ashes of Carthage, and considered Tunisia’s first film in the thriller genre, offers a critical perspective on transnational trafficking in art and cultural objects.