A PLACE… A STORY… A PASSION
El Hamra or Al Hambra, as one called it at the time where it was a cinematographic room of exploitation, is located at the street El Jazira, one of the commercial streets of most animated capital which constitutes the common point between Tunis the medina and Tunis the European city.
Second cinema in Tunis, Al Hambra was one of the rooms of most famous capital during years 30/40. The Hindu and Egyptian films, as well the musical comedies as the melodramas, drained a very large audience. Then, for lack of activities, the room lost are public and closed its doors during fifteen years, it was ruined and failing when an adventurer unloaded with a dream… that to create a space of fiction… of creation… a cultural center…
It was called “the man who reinvented Al Hambra”… Ezzeddine Gannoun, who cannot remain insensitive to this place, certainly, deserted since from the years, but remained in charge with stories and memories, the room transformed into a hearth of arts and gave again a new dynamics with the district and even in any Tunis.
The room started to function officially in 1986. After a small refitting which respected and preserved its architectural aspect, Al Hambra became a small theater of pocket, conceived primarily for the production, the diffusion and the formation. This magic place reappears making it possible to any artist to cherish his dream and to materialize it.
The room produced national and international spectacles of theater which were requested for several important cultural events with the international scales. It accommodates local and foreign troops that it is for their creation or cycles of representations of their spectacle. It organizes training courses national and international and it constitutes for the young public an essential space of meeting.
El Hamra, on the initiative of its director Ezzeddine Gannoun, shelters today the first Theatrical Research and Formation Center arabo-African of which already carried out 4 important actions:
An inaugural meeting took place in Tunis of the from March 29th to 31st 2001. Theatrical and cultural personalities acting on the Arab, African and even international scenes (32 people come from 18 countries) took part in this meeting.
A aTél.ier arabo-African of training of actor 1st degree entitled “Let us speak in silence” took place in Tunis of the from April 2nd to 12th 2001. Fourteen professional actors of 12 Arab and African countries were selected to take part in this training course which was framed by the director Ezzeddine Gannoun (Tunisia), and the choreographer Soufiane Larab (Algeria) for the physical preparation.
One second meeting took place August 23rd, 24th and 25th 2001 with Yamoussoukro (Ivory Coast). Took to share with this meeting 16 directors of spaces, festivals, companies, schools of hands-on training and networks of diffusion come from 13 Arab country and African.
A aTél.ier arabo-African of training of actor 2nd degree took place in Tunis of the from February 18th to 28th 2002. Twelve professional actors of 9 Arab and African countries continued the adventure orchestrated by the director Ezzeddine Gannoun (Tunisia), and the choreographer Soufiane Larab (Algeria) for the physical preparation.