The film, which will shoot entirely in Tunisia, will tell the story of iconic figure Mohamed Bouazizi.

Tunisian producer Tarak Ben Ammar is to produce and finance a feature about iconic Tunisian figure Mohamed Bouazizi, whose actions led to the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia and the overthrow of Tunisian President Zein El-Abedin Ben Ali.

Shooting will take place entirely in Tunisia, with a view to screening the film in Cannes in 2012.

The film is being dubbed as a “political thriller in the mould of Costa-Gavras’ Z and Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers.”

All profits from the film will go to Mohamed Bouazizi’s family, who Ben Ammar will be consulting on the project.

“Mohamed Bouazizi has become a hero for us as Tunisians and the Arab world as a whole. He performed the ultimate self-sacrifice and in doing so he opened up the eyes and heart of a nation to the injustice all around them. What’s more, he did that by sacrificing himself, not by hurting anyone else,” said Ben Ammar, who will produce for his Paris based company Quinta Communications, which is currently in production on Black Gold starring Antonio Banderas and Tahar Rahim.  

Ben Ammar’s credits include Rachid Bouchareb’s Outside The Law and Julian Schnabel’s Miral.