In April 2016 Olfa Hamrouni raised the alarm. Her two oldest daughters, Rahma and Ghofrane, both still teenagers, had made their way out of Tunisia to fight for the Islamic State — ISIS — in Libya. Olfa was upset that her children had been allowed to flee the country, and terrified about their fate. This rupture remains the defining tragedy of her life and it’s the subject of this invigorating and inventive hybrid docu-drama from Academy Award-nominee Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin; Beauty and the Dogs). Not content with interviewing Olfa, Ben Hania casts actresses to play her absent daughters, and leading local star Hend Sabrey also appears as Olfa (and alongside her), while the two younger daughters play themselves in reenactments. All the male parts are performed by the same actor. If this stylized, Brechtian approach sounds ambitious, it is — but this audacious, radical and stimulating movie is like a Catherine Wheel, sending out sparks in all directions.
Gripping… sometimes provocative, sometimes moving, and sometimes, unexpectedly, very funny.
Jessica Kiang, Variety
Kaouther Ben Hania
Eya Chikhaoui, Tayssir Chikhaoui, Olfa Hamrouni, Nour Karoui
Tunisia/France/Germany/Saudi Arabia
2023
In Arabic with English subtitles
Golden Eye Documentary Award, Cannes 2023
Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature
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Credits
Producer
Nadim Cheikhrouha
Screenwriter
Kaouther Ben Hania
Cinematography
Farouk Laaridh
Editor
Jean-Christophe Hym, Qutaiba Barhamji, Kaouther Ben Hania
Production Design
Bessem Marzouk
Original Music
Amin Bouhafa
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