Société Anonyme Tunisienne de Production et d'Expansion Cinématographique

Société Anonyme Tunisienne de Production et d'Expansion Cinématographique (SATPEC; English: Tunisian Company for Cinematic Production and Expansion) was a Tunisian film production company.

History

Habib Bourguiba, the president of Tunisia, created SATPEC in 1964 and inaugurated it in 1968.^[1] In 1966, SATPEC established Gammarth Studios to promote local film productions. Gammarth was completed in 1968 and originally only processed film in black and white until 1983 when it became equipped to process films in colour.^[2][3]

During the 1970s, SATPEC had a monopoly on importing and producing foreign film in Tunisia.^[1] In 1973, SATPEC managed the newly re-opened Tunisian Cinémathèque. The government withdrew SATPEC's monopoly in 1981.^[4] SATPEC declared bankruptcy in the 1980s and was dissolved in 1994.^[5]: 370 In 2011, Tarak Ben Ammar purchased the laboratories of Gammarth Studios as part of Quinta Communications.^[6]

References

1. Martin, First (2007). Hjort, Mette; Petrie, Duncan J. (eds.). The Cinema of Small Nations. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 214–5. ISBN 978-0-7486-2536-9.
2. "Gammarth Studios". Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema. Scarecrow Press. 11 March 2010. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-8108-7364-3.
3. Papers. Vol. 1. African Studies Association of the United Kingdom. 1996. p. 175.
4. Perkins, Kenneth (20 January 2014). A History of Modern Tunisia. Cambridge University Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-107-02407-6.
5. "Société Anonyme Tunisienne de Production et d'Expansion Cinématographique". Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema. Scarecrow Press. 11 March 2010. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-8108-7364-3.
6. Ben Sassi, Chaima (25 February 2011). "Cinéma : Les producteurs invitent à enquêter sur l'achat de la SATPEC par Tarek Ben Ammar". Tunisie Numerique (in French). Retrieved 30 October 2015.