Man of Ashes (Rih Essed)
Nouri Bouzid, 1986
This powerful film about working-class boys growing up in Tunisia caused a stir because it deals with sexual harassment and homosexuality. A carpentry apprentice is about to celebrate his wedding but he and his close friend have both been victims of sexual abuse, notably by the monstrous local carpenter. This dark secret threatens to come out before the young man's wedding. Several Arab films in the mid-80s – another is Michel Khleifi's Wedding in Galilee – explored the close links between sexual oppression and political and social oppression, whether in the form of traditional patriarchal orders or foreign military occupation or entrenched class interests. Man of Ashes does this brilliantly.
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