
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Fund-backed “Agora,” film has won the Pardo Verde Award, known as the Green Award, at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, reported Arab News.
The Pardo Verde Award is a prestigious award given to a film that perfectly mirrors an environmental theme without being afraid of asking difficult questions.
“Agora,” represents the third feature film by the Tunisian filmmaker Ala Eddine Slim, after his 2016 feature “The Last of Us” that won the Lion of the Future Prize at Venice and “Tlamess” (2019) which was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes.
The film is a French-Tunisian coproduction between Julie Viez’s Cinenovo and Slim’s Exit Productions. It has secured 80% of its €623,593 budget ($743,000).

The awarded film tackles a mysterious phenomenon in a remote Tunisian town where people who had gone missing for years suddenly return. Their return sparks several tensions among resident, leading local police inspector Fathi and his doctor friend Amine to investigate and solve the mystery. The matter becomes more complicated with the appearance of Omar, a police inspector from the capital, who attempts to unravel the mystery.
Slim explains that Agora is a reflection on the past, mirroring painful memories and social failures. The film basically tackles the theme of the conflict between urban life and nature.
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