1.
PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION
41 avenue Habib Bourguiba – 2078 LA MARSA – TUNISIE
Tel : +216 71 744 815 – Fax : +216 71 982 088 Mail : propaganda@gnet.tn
Long Synopsis :
This is the story of Mohsen aka « Bastardo », a man with no origins or history,
who’s always been excluded and rejected by the inhabitants of his poor
neighborhood.
After having been fired from his job, Mohsen, thanks to his friend Khlifa, has a
GSM relay installed on his roof for a substantial monthly income. This aerial
enables the neighborhood inhabitants to finally enjoy mobile telephony and
the modernity of which they’d been deprived until then.
This event will disrupt life in the neighborhood, and Mohsen’s too, whose
social and financial situation improve by the day. But that’s not counting with
Larnouba, Mohsen’s life-long friend, but also the unscrupulous district
mobster, who doesn’t approve of Mohsen’s ascent. This leads to a merciless
fight between both men for the domination of the district.
Bent Essengra, the mysterious girl with the insects, and secretly in love with
Mohsen, will play an essential part in this confrontation, and will tip the scales
in Mohsen’s favor by committing the worst, out of love. Ridden of his rival and
manipulated by his friend Khlifa, Mohsen’s path is clear to become the most
powerful and respected man in the district…

2.
PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION
41 avenue Habib Bourguiba – 2078 LA MARSA – TUNISIE
Tel : +216 71 744 815 – Fax : +216 71 982 088 Mail : propaganda@gnet.tn
Director’s statement
Reflecting about power has been a serious concern for me especially under
Ben Ali's regime. Power and corruption have been part of our lives for decades
and less than 3 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: his situation improves, in an
environment which was originally hostile. Being a bastard with no origins, the
young man, for the first time in his life, is going to enjoy the respect of the
inhabitants of the district.
The GSM relay isn’t quite the godsend it seems, as it will have a twofold effect
on the lives of the inhabitants, as well as his own. It’s a metaphor on the
misdemeanours of fierce capitalism and peoples’ frantic urge to make as much
money as they can, at the cost of the fundamental values of human beings.
The district represents a society more and more obsessed with consumerism
and easy profit ; In spite of himself, Mohsen is just the detonator but also the
victim of the surrounding decadence.
The salvation comes in the shape of a character, Bent Essengra, the
mysterious girl who manages to keep a lucid outlook on the events.
Marginalized and rejected, she’ll be the observer of the decline of the one she
secretly loves, Mohsen, and the district where she unwillingly lives.
Her character bears life through the insects she attracts and shelters on her
body, a source of disgust amongst the inhabitants of the district.
The use of these metaphors is deliberate, allowing the characters to evolve in
a world that occasionally borders on the surreal, while staying firmly rooted in
reality. The GSM relay, Khlifa’s ghost, Bent Essengra’s insects are as many
metaphoric elements that enable the story to evolve in a quirky world, while
sticking to everyday life.
The director
Nejib BELKADHI

3.
PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION
41 avenue Habib Bourguiba – 2078 LA MARSA – TUNISIE
Tel : +216 71 744 815 – Fax : +216 71 982 088 Mail : propaganda@gnet.tn
Director Biography : Nejib Belkadhi
Born on May 13th 1972 in Tunis, Tunisia. After studying management and
marketing in Carthage, Tunisia, he went into film and theatre as an actor. His
first shot at directing came in 1999 with a T.V. show on Canal+ Horizons.
In 2002, he founded Propaganda Production with his close friend and
accomplice Imed Marzouk. In 2005 he directed his first short film, « Tsawer ».
It was selected in over 30 film festivals, in 11 countries
VHS-Kahloucha, an 82 minute documentary produced in 2006 was selected in
50 film festivals (world premiere at Cannes film festival in 2006, in competition
at The Sundance film festival in 2007…) and has won 7 awards.

4.
PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION
41 avenue Habib Bourguiba – 2078 LA MARSA – TUNISIE
Tel : +216 71 744 815 – Fax : +216 71 982 088 Mail : propaganda@gnet.tn
Cast List
Monoom CHOUAYET Lobna NOOMENE
Mohsen Bastardo Bent Essengra
Taoufik EL BAHRI Lassaad BEN ABDALLAH
Khlifa Khadhra
Chedly ARFAOUI Issa HARATH
Larnouba Am Salah

5.
PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION
41 avenue Habib Bourguiba – 2078 LA MARSA – TUNISIE
Tel : +216 71 744 815 – Fax : +216 71 982 088 Mail : propaganda@gnet.tn
Crew and Technical
Titre original : BASTARDO
Genre : Fiction
Duration : 1H46
Shooting Format : Arri Alexa
Screening Format : DCP
Countries of production : Tunisie / France / Qatar
Production Year : 2013
Production : Propaganda Production (Tunisie)
Co-Production : Mille et une productions (France)
Producer Délégué : Imed MARZOUK (PROPAGANDA PRODUCTION)
Director/Script Writer : Néjib BELKADHI
Director of photography : Gergely POHARNOK
Sound : Yacine MELIANI
Music : LONE WOLF
Art Director : Rauf HELIOUI
Costumes : Nadia ANANE / Salah Barka
Editing : Badi Chouka / Pascale Chavance