El Watan – May 2, 2011

“Jenjer” (Make-up), a movie directed by Abdelmalek Saïfi, was just selected through official competition of short movies at the 64th Film Festival of Cannes, which will be held from May 11 to the 22, 2011.

Sole entry as short movie for all of North Africa, “Jenjer” will compete against other shorts, such as “Je voulais vous dire” by Romain Delange (France), “Jesus Saves” by De Souza Ramos (Brazil and United Kingdom), “Jeremy” by Brian Faye (United States), “Je te survivrai” by Mathias Gomis (France), and many others that have been entered in competition in the “Short Film Corner”.

“Jenjer”, meaning “Make-up” in Arabic, is a 20-mn short produced in January 2011. The film by Abdelmalek Saïfi, which was shot in DV, is a youth drama projected into the future. Mohamed Thichradh, is a young cartoonist who succeeds in getting into arts school. After a while, he gets bored by his studies and decides to set up his own studio at home. The film begins with a wide shot of his eyes. In his room, now his studio, Mohamed spends 7 whole minutes in a movie that is 20 minute long, intent on reproducing a piece of art that is in fact nothing but a white canvas. The director spoke about how difficult it is (to make a movie). The short is dominated by scenes where the eyes of a young man meet those of a young girl, symbolizing fecundity. Mohand Saïdani, Nassima Merzoug, and Axelle Nebout hold the main roles. The Cannes festival is an opportunity for young movie makers to make themselves known and to promote cinema as an important cultural value.