Shooting La Cité des Ombres entirely in Tunisia raised a few problems, says producer Yves Fortin, not the least of which was the sandstorm.

The $5-million picture is set in war-torn 19th century north Africa, and stars German-born Jean-Marc Barr (Le grand bleu, Europa) as a military doctor who comes back to the titular city after three years on the frontlines. Quebec’s Pierre Lebeau, Claude Legault and Sabine Karsenti also star.

Fortin was determined to shoot in the Tunisian desert, despite the challenges. ‘We wanted it to be an authentic, natural setting,’ explains the Quebec producer. Three-quarters of the crew for La Cité des Ombres (The City of Shadows) were native Tunisians.

The biggest challenge? ‘There was a sandstorm. We had to completely shroud all the equipment. It complicates things.’

The sand also had an impact on the quality of light, he says. ‘A sandstorm creates the effect of a thick fog of sand, I’ve never seen anything like it.’

Fortin (Les États-Unis d’Albert) believes the theme of his period piece is very contemporary.

‘It’s about Africa when it was being colonized by Europeans, but it’s very relevant today. There are parallels that can be drawn with the war in Iraq and other conflicts around the world,’ he says.

Written and directed by Kim Nguyen (Le marais, Truffe), the majority Canada/Switzerland copro comes from Quebec’s Productions Thalie and overseas partners Bohemian Films. Like Nguyen’s first feature Le marais, Cité des Ombres is an expressionistic auteur flick.

After three tries, Fortin got support from Telefilm Canada for Cité des Ombres. SODEC and Switzerland’s l’Office Fédéral de la Culture, Télévision Suisse Romande and International Monastir Films Services also contributed. Distributed in Canada by Christal Films, Cité des Ombres will be in theaters in 2009.