Nacer Khemir

Nacer Khemir Trailers

Where to Start? TrailerLooking for Muhyiddin TrailerL'Alphabet de Ma Mère Trailer

Nacer Khemir (Arabic: ناصر خمير‎), born in 1948 in Korba, Tunisia, is a Tunisian writer, artist, storyteller, and filmmaker. Biography From an early age, Khemir was fascinated by classical Arabic culture and by storytelling. He has cited the One Thousand and One Nights as a particular influence, saying, "I am a child of these stories." However, in spite of this interest and a similar, lasting passion for film, Khemir initially planned a career as a painter and sculptor - a path he has, throughout his life, continued to pursue; his art has been exhibited at, among other institutions, the Centre Pompidou and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. In 1966, at the age of eighteen, he was awarded a UNESCO fellowship to study film in Paris. In 1975, he completed his first film, L’Histoire du pays du Bon Dieu (The History of God's Country), shot in his hometown of Korba and featuring the desert setting and spiritual overtones that would figure prominently in his later work. Released in 1984, his first feature film, Les baliseurs du désert (Wanderers of the Desert), garnered international acclaim. The film, which tells the story of a schoolteacher's arrival in a strange and haunting desert town, was awarded the Grand Prix at the Festival des Trois Continents. Khemir's second feature, Le collier perdu de la colombe (The Dove's Lost Necklace), was released in 1991. The dialogue of the film is in Classical Arabic.[4] Its narrative, reminiscent of a fairy tale, concerns a young calligrapher in Al-Andalus who embarks on a quest to find the missing fragments of a manuscript that he believes will reveal to him the secrets of love. Le collier perdu de la colombe was the recipient of several awards, including a Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival. Les baliseurs du désert and Le collier perdu de la colombe are considered to form the first two parts of a "Desert Trilogy." The third part, Bab'Aziz: le prince qui contemplait son âme (Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul) was released in 2005. Bab'Aziz tells the story of an elderly dervish who, accompanied by his young granddaughter, encounters several mysterious strangers as he journeys to a large and joyful Sufi gathering in the desert. Khemir has described Bab'Aziz as "a highly political film, and deliberately so," saying: "I would explain it with this allegory: if you are walking alongside your father and he suddenly falls down, his face in the mud, what would you do? You would help him stand up, and wipe his face with your shirt. My father’s face stands for Islam, and I tried to wipe Islam’s face clean with my movie, by showing an open, tolerant and friendly Islamic culture, full of love and wisdom . . . an Islam that is different from the one depicted by the media in the aftermath of 9/11." The film was co-produced by eight countries, including Germany, France, Switzerland, and Iran. It was the recipient of a Golden Dagger at the Muscat Film Festival. In addition to his work as an artist and filmmaker, Khemir has performed as a storyteller at the Théâtre national de Chaillot, and has produced work for Swiss, French, and Tunisian television. He is the author of a number of books, including several for children

Most Popular Nacer Khemir Trailers

Total trailers found: 11

Bab'Aziz Trailer (2006)

15 November 2006

The story of a blind dervish named Bab'Aziz and his spirited granddaughter, Ishtar. Together they wander the desert in search of a great reunion of dervishes that takes place just once every thirty years.

L'Alphabet de Ma Mère Trailer (2008)

01 January 2008

An old woman is sitting with motionless and two eyes closed. Suddenly, a visitor shows up in the courtyard of the house while she is looking at the sunlight through a window.

André Miquel. An encounter with the Arabic language Trailer (2010)

31 December 2010

This is a film about a man, with a peculiar itinirary, who worked hard to build a bridge between the Arab and the French cultures.

The Trip To Tunis Trailer (2007)

01 September 2007

Retracing the trip to Tunisia that painter Paul Klee took in 1914, Tunisian filmmaker and painter Nacer Khemir leads viewers on a journey of discovery into Arabian culture.

The Dove's Lost Necklace Trailer (1992)

17 December 1992

The story revolves around Hassan, who is studying Arabic calligraphy from a grand master. Coming across a manuscript fragment, Hassan searches for the missing pieces, believing that once he finds them, he will learn the secrets of love.

Loving Wallada Trailer (2019)

01 January 2019

Wallada, the only child of one of the last Umayyad caliphs, al-Mustakfi murdered in 1025, asserted herself throughout the 11th century as both a poetess and a free woman.

Whispering Sands Trailer (2018)

26 April 2018

A Canadian woman of Arab descent undertakes a trip and hires a guide to help her find a specific place in the Tunisian desert.

Wanderers of the Desert Trailer (1986)

30 April 1986

A young teacher arrives to take over a village school isolated in the shimmering desert. Legendary figures materialize out of wells and the desert itself, groups of children hurry through a labyrinth of underground corridors, and the teacher is whisked away to a mysterious rendezvous and never returns.

Looking for Muhyiddin Trailer (2014)

14 April 2014

A man (played by the filmmaker Nacer Khemir) returns home to Tunis to bury his mother. After the burial, his father gives him an "amana" to be handed to a certain Sheikh named Muhyiddin.

Sheherazade: Words Against Death Trailer (2011)

16 October 2011

The collected work known as "One Thousand and One Nights" survived for centuries through generations of Arab storytellers, and is now recognized as an integral part of world literature.

Where to Start? Trailer (2014)

30 October 2014

There are around twenty thousand cafés in Tunisia, but barely ten movie theaters. In the past, we Arabs missed out on the printing revolution.