Backstage

Backstage tar oss med på et danseshow hvor skjønnheten i forestillingen undergraves av konflikten som oppstår mellom hoveddanserne, Aida og Hedi. Interne spenninger i ensemblet påvirker showet, men takket være profesjonaliteten til danserne merker ikke publikum at Aida blir skadet. Den spennende og rytmiske kraften på scenen står i kontrast til den langsomme dynamikken bak kulissene.

Aidas skade bringer frem konflikter i gruppa når de er på vei til en lege, langs den mørke veien. Reisen understreker kontrasten mellom den harmoniske verden danserne formidler på scenen og diharmonien de lever med bak scenen.

Afef Ben Mahmoud er en tunisisk skuespillerinne og regissør. Hun debuterte som ballettdanser og begynte deretter å spille på teater, tv og kino. Hun har bidratt i elleve filmer, men er mest kjent for My Neighbor Hamouda (2004) og Hunting Gazelles (2008). Hun har hatt hovedroller under store tunisiske regissører, blant annet Nouri Bouzids Making Of (2006) og nylig i Streams (2021) av Mehdi Hmili. For sistnevnte mottok hun prisen for beste skuespillerinne under Kairo internasjonale filmfestival. Parallelt etablerte hun Mésanges Films og produserte Bouzids siste film, The Scarecrows (2019), hvor hun også spiller en av hovedrollene. Filmen hadde premiere under filmfestivalen i Venezia.

Etter filmstudier ledet Khalil Benkirane San Francisco Arab Film Festival og returnerte deretter til Marokko for å regissere The White Thread, en helaftens dokumentarfilm. Senere ble han med i Doha Film Institute for å føre tilsyn med Grant-programmet, samtidig som han var medprodusent på The Scarecrows av Nouri Bouzids.

In English

Backstage is an experimental and beautiful film about Aida and her dance troupe touring Morocco. An injury during a performance brings out conflicts in the troupe, and leads them in search of a doctor, along the dark road.

Backstage takes us to a dance show where the beauty of the performance is undermined by the conflict that arises between the main dancers, Aida and Hedi. Internal tensions within the dance company impact the show; however, thanks to the professionalism of the performers, the audience does not notice when Aida gets injured. The exciting and rhythmic action on stage is replaced by a slow dynamic behind the scenes.

Aida’s injury brings out conflicts in the team as they make their way to the doctor through the dark road. The journey highlights the contrast between the harmonious world dancers convey on stage and the disharmony they live with behind it.

Afef Ben Mahmoud is a Tunisian actress and director with an educational background in business administration. She made her debut as a ballet dancer and then began acting in theatre, television and cinema. She has contributed to eleven films but is known for My Neighbor Hamouda (2004) and Hunting Gazelles (2008). She has also starred under major Tunisian directors, including Nouri Bouzid’s Making Of (2006) and more recently in Streams (2021) by Mehdi Hmili, receiving the Best Actress award at the Cairo IFF. Alongside, she created Mésanges Films and produced Bouzid’s latest film, The Scarecrows (2019), in which she also plays a leading role. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

After film studies, Khalil Benkirane directed the San Francisco Arab Film Festival and then returned to Morocco to direct his feature documentary The White Thread. He later joined the Doha Film Institute to oversee the Grant program, alongside which he co-produced The Scarecrows by Nouri Bouzids.