TUNIS, TUNISIA (AFP) — Ethiopian film “Teza” scooped four main awards at Africa’s Carthage Film Festival Saturday, including the coveted Golden Tanit for its “modesty and genius.”

Tunisian culture minister Abderraouf Basti and Ethiopian director Haile Gerima

The film by Haile Gerima bagged the top prize on the last day of the festival in Tunisia, beating the Palestinian film “Leila’s Birthday” and Tunisia’s entry “Khamsa” to second and third place respectively.

“Teza” tells the story of an Ethiopian doctor at the height of the Cold War who comes back to his country from the West under the Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam in the 1970s.

The film also picked up awards for best scenario, best music and best supporting actor.

Other festival winners included “Yellow House” by Algerian director Amor Hakkar, while the Tanit of Honour went to Burkina Faso actor Sotigui Kouyate.

However, controversy struck the 22nd festival when the Syrian government intervened to ban the entry of a short film, “Zabad”, by director Reem Ali about two of the country’s former political prisoners.

The Carthage Film Festival, which showcases Arab and African films, is held every two years in the Tunisian capital. Tanit is a Phoenician lunar goddess, worshipped as the patron goddess at Carthage.