Nacer Khemir, a Tunisian writer, artist, storyteller, and filmmaker, was born in 1948 in Korba, Tunisia. He was fascinated by classical Arabic culture and storytelling from an early age, citing the One Thousand and One Nights as a significant influence.
Initially, Khemir planned to pursue a career as a painter and sculptor, and his art has been exhibited at prestigious institutions such as the Centre Pompidou and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. However, in 1966, at the age of eighteen, he was awarded a UNESCO fellowship to study film in Paris.
Khemir's first film, L'Histoire du pays du Bon Dieu (The History of God's Country),was completed in 1975 and shot in his hometown of Korba. The film featured a desert setting and spiritual overtones that would become a hallmark of his later work.
His first feature film, Les baliseurs du désert (Wanderers of the Desert),was released in 1984 and garnered international acclaim. The film tells the story of a schoolteacher's arrival in a strange and haunting desert town and was awarded the Grand Prix at the Festival des Trois Continents.
Khemir's second feature, Le collier perdu de la colombe (The Dove's Lost Necklace),was released in 1991 and features dialogue in Classical Arabic. The narrative is reminiscent of a fairy tale and follows a young calligrapher in Al-Andalus who embarks on a quest to find the missing fragments of a manuscript that he believes will reveal to him the secrets of love.
Le collier perdu de la colombe was the recipient of several awards, including a Special Jury Prize at the Locarno International Film Festival. The film and Les baliseurs du désert are considered to form the first two parts of a "Desert Trilogy."
The third part of the trilogy, Bab'Aziz: le prince qui contemplait son âme (Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul),was released in 2005. The film tells the story of an elderly dervish who, accompanied by his young granddaughter, encounters several mysterious strangers as he journeys to a large and joyful Sufi gathering in the desert.
Khemir has described Bab'Aziz as "a highly political film, and deliberately so." He has said that the film is an allegory for the need to clean the face of Islam, which has been tarnished by media portrayals in the aftermath of 9/11. The film was co-produced by eight countries and received a Golden Dagger at the Muscat Film Festival.
In addition to his work as an artist and filmmaker, Khemir has performed as a storyteller and has produced work for television. He is the author of several books, including children's books.
