DP75: Tartina City
Encyclopedia
DP75: Tartina City is a 2006 dramatic film by Chad
ian director Issa Serge Coelo
, now at his second feature film. The film has won the Innovation Award at the 31st Montreal World Film Festival
. While the country where the action is set remains unnamed, the context is that of Chadian history in the 1980s and 1990s. The name's title is taken from the "tartina", a mixture of bread and sheeps' bowels served to the prisoners.
commanded by Colonel Koulbou (Felkissam Mahamat) is active. A journalist, Adoum (Youssouf Djaoro), having obtained his passport wants to travel abroad so to be able to report on the situation in his country; but while at the airport, a compromising letter is found on him. Adoum is thrown in one of Koulbou's jails. All hope seems lost, but Adoum finds unexpected help from Koulbou's estranged wife, Hawa.
, which while noting the "rocky story progression and a minimalist tech package" of the feature, judged it overcame these difficulties by placing in the center the figure of Colonel Koulbou, whose interpretation is commended. The reviewer concludes saying that "Coelo displays a commitment to social concerns that flags him as a filmmaker to watch from the region." Jeune Afrique
also reviews positively the film, "a very harsh film, without any concessions to aestheticisms ... Its very crude images have at times shocked the spectators, but the authour avoids falling in sensationalism to describe the martyrdom of a freedom of opinion prisoner".
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
ian director Issa Serge Coelo
Issa Serge Coelo
Issa Serge Coelo is a Chadian film director. Born in Biltine, Chad, he studied history in Paris and film at the Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle . He then worked as a cameraman at Métropole Télévision, France 3, TV5MONDE and CFI before creating the 1994 short film Un taxi pour Aouzou...
, now at his second feature film. The film has won the Innovation Award at the 31st Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
. While the country where the action is set remains unnamed, the context is that of Chadian history in the 1980s and 1990s. The name's title is taken from the "tartina", a mixture of bread and sheeps' bowels served to the prisoners.
Synopsis
The action is set in an unnamed African country, where a brutal governative death squadDeath squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
commanded by Colonel Koulbou (Felkissam Mahamat) is active. A journalist, Adoum (Youssouf Djaoro), having obtained his passport wants to travel abroad so to be able to report on the situation in his country; but while at the airport, a compromising letter is found on him. Adoum is thrown in one of Koulbou's jails. All hope seems lost, but Adoum finds unexpected help from Koulbou's estranged wife, Hawa.
Reception
The film was reviewed favourably by VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, which while noting the "rocky story progression and a minimalist tech package" of the feature, judged it overcame these difficulties by placing in the center the figure of Colonel Koulbou, whose interpretation is commended. The reviewer concludes saying that "Coelo displays a commitment to social concerns that flags him as a filmmaker to watch from the region." Jeune Afrique
Jeune Afrique
Jeune Afrique is a weekly newsmagazine published in Paris, founded in Tunis by Béchir Ben Yahmed on October 17, 1960. It covers the political, economic and cultural spheres of Africa, with an emphasis on Francophone Africa and the Maghreb....
also reviews positively the film, "a very harsh film, without any concessions to aestheticisms ... Its very crude images have at times shocked the spectators, but the authour avoids falling in sensationalism to describe the martyrdom of a freedom of opinion prisoner".