Synopsis : On a farm in the remote north of Tunisia, Aïcha lives with her husband Brahim and their youngest child Adam. Gifted with dreams that foretell the future, she is racked with anguish after her other sons Mehdi and Amine leave to fight for ISIS in a violent conflict in Syria. When Mehdi returns home with a mysterious and pregnant wife in tow, the village is turned upside down in a series of unsettling events. Aïcha now finds herself torn between her love for her son and her need to face the turmoil gripping the community. Meryam Joobeur’s haunting debut feature weaves together elements of macabre mystery, political provocation and supernatural suspense to offer a distinctive female take on traditional masculine themes of war and radicalisation.
Festival History : Berlin International Film Festival 2024, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2024, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2024
Director :
Meryam Joobeur
Producer :
Nadim Cheikhrouha, Sarra Ben Hassen, Annick Blanc, Maria Gracia Turgeon, Meryam Joobeur
Screenplay :
Meryam Joobeur
DOP :
Vincent Gonneville
Editor :
Maxime Mathis, Meryam Joobeur
Cast :
Salha Nasraoui, Mohamed Hassine Grayaa, Malek Mechergui, Adam Bessa, Dea Liane, Rayen Mechergui, Chaker Mechergui
Meryam Joobeur believes wholeheartedly in the transformative power of storytelling and hopes that her films can capture the beauty, complexity and universal nature of the human condition. Her short films Gods, Weeds and Revolutions (2012) and Born in the Maelstrom (2017) have been screened internationally, and her Oscar nominated short Brotherhood (2018) was screened at more than 150 festivals and also won 75 international prizes.