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Aïcha

Mehdi Barsaoui
festival
Sun 4 May 25 - Mon 5 May 25
  • Caution with children up to 16 years of age

Partially inspired by true events from 2019, this is not just a portrait of a woman searching for freedom, but also an X-ray of a country where corruption reigns and women feel the weight of the patriarchy.

Aya, in her late twenties, still lives with her parents in southern Tunisia, on the edge of the Sahara, and feels trapped in a life without a future. Every day, she commutes back and forth between her hometown and the hotel where she works, until her bus is involved in an accident, As the sole survivor, she realizes this is her chance to start a new life. She flees to Tunis under a new identity, but when she witnesses a case of police misconduct, things suddenly take a turn for the worse.

The strength lies in the execution, where every visual element forms an essential cog in the story. The focus, often close-up and intimate, places the viewer as close as possible to the main character. In contrast, wide shots display overwhelming landscapes or suffocating urban spaces, reinforcing the idea that freedom is out of reach. The color palette, shifting from warm to cool tones, changes to mark the inner evolution and emotional dilemmas of the protagonist.

direction
Mehdi Barsaoui
duration
123 min
year
2024
country
Tunisia
language
Arabic
Subtitles
French, Dutch
  • Caution with children up to 16 years of age

part of

Regisseur

Mehdi Barsaoui

director

"Le subtil portrait d’une jeune femme tunisienne résiliente." − Olivier Bachelard, Abus de Ciné