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Mouayed Zabtia shoots most scenes for his latest movie in a studio he built at his Tripoli home. For the filmmaker, it is one way to overcome the obstacles he faces in a country where cinema once nearly vanished.Before a 1969 coup that brought Moamer Kadhafi to power, Libya’s capital Tripoli was home to more than 20 movie theatres.”Today we have none,” Zabtia told AFP.Kadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011, and though the censorship of his era has declined, its effects are still deeply felt through underinvestment and public disinterest.”You have to go abroad to see films in a movie theatre,” said Mohammed Rizk, an actor in Zabtia’s current project, which is set in 1980s Libya when a younger generation yearned for freedom under Kadhafi.Under the longtime ruler, cinema was viewed as a tool of foreign cultural invasion, and only movies aligned with the state were funded and promoted.Movie theatres were seen as spaces for gatherings that were difficult to control.- ‘Disinterest’ -Many like 47-year-old Zabtia believed that after Kadhafi’s fall, cinema would be resurrected, but the instability that ensued has delayed any revival.”The problem is disinterest from all governments since 2011,” Zabtia said. “We were expecting that they would help.”The filmmaker said he had funded all his productions from his own pocket, mainly with revenue from a production company he founded in 2001 to create television series and wedding videos.It was only after the 2011 revolution that he decided to take on cinema, a goal since childhood.In his dim-lit studio, Zabtia oversees everything — from lighting and sound to costumes — as a small crew bustles about making his latest picture, “1986”.Zabtia said the film is inspired by true events, including the estrangement from Libya of pioneering singer Ahmed Fakroun after Kadhafi cracked down on Western-influenced music.Today, Zabtia said, it is no longer censorship that stifles filmmaking in Libya, but an array of other challenges compounded by a lack of public support.Authorities have in recent years attempted to revive the artform through festivals and the creation of the Libyan Film Institute in 2021.- No story without women -Zabtia said most of his work is filmed in the studio as “filming outside in Libya is very tiring”.”We lack logistic support. You need big crews, food, drinks, help with the police for outdoor sets.””We don’t have that experience, and people are not used to seeing these kinds of cameras in the street.”Added to that, some Libyans feel cinema clashes with their moral values, he added.Portraying women on screen is particularly difficult, Zabtia said, although he insisted it was “impossible to make a film without women when it comes to telling a story.””We have many hidden female talents who are afraid to come forward.”Yet the director believes one solution to these social obstacles is cinema itself: “The role of cinema — our role — is to pinpoint issues and try to address them.”Despite the obstacles, a handful of Libyan films have crossed borders.”Freedom Fields”, a documentary by Libyan-British director Naziha Arebi about three women footballers, was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.In 2023, “Donga”, a film by Muhannad Lamin about the 2011 uprising, was shown at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.While “cinema doesn’t really have a market in Libya”, Zabtia hopes the lack of interest will translate into an opportunity to stand out and establish a niche — particularly with platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. “We want to develop and highlight Libyan work, talent and skills,” he said. “And we want to reach audiences overseas. It’s important that they hear about Libyan stories and culture, and get to know us as a people.”

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza “board of peace,” a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.”It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding that the members of the body will be announced “shortly.””I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place,” Trump said.The board’s creation comes shortly after the announcement of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee, charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza.The committee will work under the supervision of the board of peace, which Trump said Thursday he will lead as its chair.The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.”The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.The US-backed Gaza peace plan first came into force on October 10, facilitating the return of all the hostages held by Hamas and an end to the fighting between the Palestinian militant group and Israel in the besieged territory.The plan’s second phase is now underway, though clouded by ongoing allegations of aid shortages and violence. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has said Israeli forces have killed 451 people since the ceasefire ostensibly took effect.For Palestinians, the central issue remains Israel’s full military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — a step included in the plan’s framework but for which no detailed timetable has been announced.Hamas, meanwhile, has refused to publicly commit to a full disarmament, a non-negotiable demand from Israel.In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington expects Hamas to “comply fully with its obligations.” Hamas is preparing to hold internal elections to rebuild its leadership, which has been decimated by Israeli killings during the war in Gaza. That vote is expected “in the first months of 2026,” a Hamas leader told AFP Monday.Trump shared Witkoff’s post Thursday, adding “These Palestinian leaders are unwaveringly committed to a PEACEFUL future!” in reference to the transitional government he selects.”With the support of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, we will secure a COMPREHENSIVE Demilitarization Agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of ALL weapons, and the dismantling of EVERY tunnel,” Trump said.