Keswick Film Festival

Synopsis

Fact and fiction mix in Kaouther Ben Hania's astonishing hybrid docudrama, screened in Competition at Cannes this year, which stars professional actresses alongside real family members in a retelling of a Tunisian mother's heartbreak over two of her daughters' departures to fight for the Islamic State.

Olfa (Hend Sabri) is the mother of four daughters. One day, her two eldest, Rahma and Ghofrane, leave to fight for IS in Syria. Some years later, Ben Hania invites two actresses into the frame, bringing the viewer closer to the stories of Olfa and her daughters, and in combining direct interviews with dramatic re-enactments, attempting to understand their relationships, their past, and the process of radicalisation.

Thanks To Modern Films