Tribute to Claudia Cardinale

Tribute Evening to Claudia Cardinale at the 2025 Carthage Film Festival
At the 36th edition of the Carthage Film Festival, a special celebratory moment is dedicated to honoring a Tunisian-born star of global stature. Claudia Cardinale’s name has long been intertwined with Tunisia, the country where she was born and spent her childhood and early youth.
From the chance event that led her to enter the Miss Tunisia beauty contest, where she won the title of “The Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia”, her journey began: from Tunis to Venice, then Rome, and finally Hollywood, where she became one of world cinema’s most iconic actresses.
Throughout her remarkable international career, at festivals, in the media, and on screens around the world, Claudia Cardinale has proudly upheld her Tunisian roots. She never forgot Tunisia, Carthage, Sidi Bou Saïd, nor the film La Goulette, in which she starred alongside the Arab world’s global icon Omar Sharif. She also remembered Goha, produced by SATPEC and directed by Jacques Baratier—the film that launched her onto the world stage after winning the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958.
Today, Tunisia honors its devoted daughter with a documentary titled Claudia Cardinale… Beauty and Grace, written and directed by Lotfi Bahri. The film was produced under the patronage of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, supervised by the National Center for Cinema and Image led by Mr. Chaker Chikhi, and organized by the Carthage Film Festival under the direction of Mr. Tarek Ben Chaabane.
Lotfi Bahri