Save Ksar hadada star wars shooting site tatooine
My name is Saidi Fahmi. I am the co-manager of Hotel Ksar Hadada. Unlike most Tunisians, I am a huge Star Wars fan. I am a native of Ksar Hadada village, located in the Tataouine Governorate of southern Tunisia. I am in urgent need of funds to preserve the legacy of Hotel Ksar Hadada as a Star Wars film site and ensure enduring access to the site for Star Wars fans.
My passion for Star Wars drove me and my father to acquire the rights to manage the historic Hotel Ksar Hadada in September 2019. The northwest corner of the site was used as the backdrop on 10 August 1997 to film key moments of dialogue set on fictional Tatooine in the Mos Espa slums backyards for The Phantom Menace (Episode I).
Our two-year contract (signed with the Tataouine Governorate) to run business operations at the site has been crippled by the pandemic. The Tunisian economy, particularly the tourism industry, has been locked in a downward spiral since March 2020 and any concrete attempts to revive the economy are hindered by the fact that Tunisia’s vaccination campaign lags far behind most countries.
The success of Hotel Ksar Hadada as a business venture relies on international tourists in Tunisia. The pandemic has made international travel to Tunisia nearly impossible. As a result, the site has not made any profits, which has nullified our ability to pay the required monthly lease during the pandemic. Despite this stark reality, the Tataouine Governorate insists that we pay 80,000 TND (~30,000 USD) on or before 1 July 2021 to cover monthly lease payments not submitted since March 2020. If we do not pay this large sum, we will likely lose our house and possibly face imprisonment.
We call on the global Star Wars community to actively participate in this fundraising effort to permit me and my father, the first local Hotel Ksar Hadada managers, to continue our dream of connecting fans to this important piece of Star Wars filming history.
