Tunisian documentary smashes taboos with gay love story
Nasreddine Shili’s hyperreal documentary takes a tender look at homosexuality, poverty and drug use in Tunis slums.
It took Tunisian director Nasreddine Shili nearly seven years to make “Subutext,” a daring documentary on poverty, drugs, homosexuality and sickness in Tunis’ slums.
The actor-turned-director became more and more attached to the subjects of the documentary, two young men from an impoverished neighborhood of Tunis, during this long period. “The moment of discovery that [one of the two main characters] had Hepatitis C was one of the most difficult moments in my life,” he told Al-Monitor.
