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Four Daughters

Les Filles d’Olfa

Copyright TANIT FILMS

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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

Director

Kaouther Ben Hania

Featuring

Eya Chikhaoui, Tayssir Chikhaoui, Olfa Hamrouni, Nour Karoui

Credits
Country of Origin

Tunisia/France/Germany/Saudi Arabia

Year

2023

Language

In Arabic with English subtitles

Awards

Golden Eye Documentary Award, Cannes 2023

Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature

19+
110 min
Tanit Films

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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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