THE NORMAL LINE
( LA VOIE NORMALE )
73 minutes, 2018
Director : Erige SEHIRI (France, Tunisia)
Production : Nomadis Images (Tunisia), Les Films de Zayna (France), Akka Films (Swiss)
The Tunisian railwaymen who work on Line No. 1 call it The Normal Line, because it is the only one in the country built to international standards. Ironically, it is also the most neglected and in the worst condition. Accidents are common and the passengers and employees who use it risk their lives.
Driving the locomotives, Ahmed, Afef, Issam, Abee and Najib are actors in and witnesses of the difficult process of transforming Tunisian railways and, by extension, post-revolutionary Tunisian society as a whole.
Each of them tries his best to find a new place in a society which is struggling to create a democratic way of life. Denouncing incompetence and corruption, this film celebrates dignity, hope and resilience
Erige SEHIRI is a producer and director. In 2012 she was part of a collective project “Family Albums” with the documentary “Le Facebook de mon père“, winner of the Coup de Coeur Award at the 2012 Montpellier Cinemed Festival. In 2013 she co-founded the Tunisian media company inkyfada and spent several years filming the Tunisian railways. Her feature film “The Normal Line” premiered in 2018 at the Visions du Réel festival in Switzerland. In parallel, she took over the management of the film production company Henia Productions.