Bastardo (film)

Bastardo
Directed byNejib Belkadhi
Written byNejib Belkadhi
Produced byImed Marzouk
StarringAbdel Moneem Chouayat
CinematographyGergely Pohárnok
Edited byPascale Chavance, Badi Chouka
Music byLone Wolf (Paul Marshall)[1]
Distributed byPropaganda Production
Release date
  • 8 September 2013 (2013-09-08) (TIFF)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryTunisia
LanguageArabic

Bastardo is a 2013 Tunisian drama film written and directed by Nejib Belkadhi. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[2][3]

Plot

Mohsen, "the bastard", was found in a dustbin 30 years ago by his adoptive father, and has always been rejected by the residents of the rundown district where he lives. When he is fired from his job, a mobile phone company comes to install a relay tower on the roof of his modest house in exchange for a monthly stipend, Bastardo has a reversal of fortune. The aerial makes Mohsen a wealthy and respected man, to the disgruntlement of the village mobster Larnouba.

Director Belkadhi says:

"Power and corruption have been part of our lives for decades, and less than three years after the revolution, I am still wondering if we made it. Back in 2007, when I began writing the script, I had one thought in mind: my main character Bastardo shouldn’t choose power. It’s rather power that chooses him and radically changes him."[4]

Cast

Production

Bastardo received a grant from the Doha Film Institute in 2011.[5] The original, uncut version of the movie was 3 hours and 20 minutes' long.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Lone Wolf". Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Bastardo". TIFF. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Toronto Adds 75+ Titles To 2013 Edition". Indiewire. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Bastardo". January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Bastardo". Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Film preview: Bastardo at Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds". 20 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.