Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania
2023, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, 110 min
Arabic with English subtitles
The life of Olfa, a Tunisian woman and mother of four daughters, oscillates between light and shadow. One day, her two eldest daughters disappear. To fill their absence, director Kaouther Ben Hania calls upon professional actors to re-enact the story of Olfa and her daughters.
“Ben Hania’s patient visual treatment and signature cinematic dynamism mirror the women’s evolving characters, as their inquiry transforms and turns inward to process the grief they carry and the broad range of their survival. Co-winner of the Golden Eye for Best Documentary at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this film is a study of raw honesty and a glimpse at love in its most painful form.” – TIFF
“In telling the story of Olfa and her daughters, Ben Hania is also telling the tumultuous story of Tunisia in the wake of the Arab Spring, a promising movement that began in that country before spreading to the rest of North Africa and the Middle East.” – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture