A Tunisian filmmaker, Kaouther Ben Hania, won the Best Documentary Feature award at the 39th Independent Spirit Awards for his film Four Daughters or Les Filles d’Olfa. The film is an international collaborative effort between Saudi Arabia, France, Tunisia, and Germany and tells the story of a Tunisian mother searching for answers after her two elder daughters disappear to join ISIS.
The film reconstructs Tunisia’s Olfa Hamrouni family history through interviews and reenactments, exploring the themes of memory, sisterhood, and rebellion. A poignant and ambitious exploration of these themes, Four Daughters features professional actresses playing the missing daughters, while Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabri portrays Olfa.
Four Daughters won the L’Oeil d’Or Award for Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival and was produced by Tanit Films in collaboration with Cinetelefilms and Twenty Twenty, and co-produced with Red Sea Film Festival Foundation, ZDF/Arte, and Jour2Fête. The creative vision of Nadim Cheikhrouha, in association with Habib Attia and Thanassis Karathanos, brought the film to life.