Fiction Movies as a Means of Culinary Heritage’s Safeguarding and Research Referencing: Cases of Couscous Illustration in Tunisian Cinema

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2024.647

Keywords:

Tunisia, Fiction Movies, Ethnic Representation, Referencing, Couscous, Immaterial Cultural Heritage, Culinary Heritage Safeguarding

Abstract

Couscous is a staple dish that became recognized and registered as an immaterial cultural heritage by UNESCO, simultaneously for Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania (UNESCO, Knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous, 2020). It represents a mixture of love, heritage, and innovation, which links identity, originality, and modernization. The dish is eligible for two of the five broad domains in which intangible cultural heritage is manifested: social practices, rituals, and festive events. Once a fiction film represents this gastronomic heritage, it reflects the filmmaker's culture and identity during its international distribution. This study aims to compare the couscous dish’s illustrations in Tunisian fiction films such as Halfaouine, Under the Rain of Autumn, and The Secret of the Grain; to prove how fiction movies be considered as an identity card for any filmmaker’s homeland by reflecting the culinary cultural heritage of their homeland, or even a tourism promotion for his nation; and most of all to evince that a fiction movie could become a reference for researchers, in tandem with scientific articles and books.

Author Biography

Faten Ridene, Higher Institute of Applied Sciences in Humanities Iseah Kef in University of Jendouba, Tunisia

Assistant Professor-Researcher-Reviewer_Film Critic

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Published

2024-12-16

How to Cite

Ridene, F. (2024). Fiction Movies as a Means of Culinary Heritage’s Safeguarding and Research Referencing: Cases of Couscous Illustration in Tunisian Cinema. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 12(2), 288–317. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2024.647

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2024): Fall

Section

Articles

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