Formerly known as the International Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival roars for two weeks every May. This is the 76th year of the festival, and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania is making some major waves with her film Four Daughters.
Ben Hania has sold the film rights to Four Daughters in upwards of ten countries and has been nominated for the Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded by the festival. Four Daughters follows the true story of Olfa Hmarouni and her four daughters.
In 2016, Olfa Hmarouni gained traction in international news when she criticized the Tunisian government for failing to prevent their citizens, specifically her two eldest daughters, Ghofran and Rahma, from joining the Islamic State in Libya, an exploitative terrorist organization. After they went missing, Hmarouni’s resentment of the government grew larger and her voice louder.
The film portrays the Hmarouni family’s tough love through reenactments and reflections made by both the actors and the family themselves. The film itself becomes a reflective experience, “which leads to some of the most gripping and emotionally wrenching scenes. The film helps to clear space for them to understand how fear and the patriarchy shaped their behaviors,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In an interview with VPRO Cinema, Ben Hania stated that much of her small, intimate crew were women. This atmosphere allowed for the crew to share personal experiences relating to maternal relationships, education, sexuality, and generational trauma, which are all prevalent themes in the film.
This female-led film is not an anomaly in the Arab film industry. According to Jasur Magazine, 26% of Arab filmmakers are women, and 60% of emerging filmmakers in Qatar are women, compared to 25% of European films and 8% of American films. Arab women have served as trailblazers for all women in the film industry, as they have been assuming all roles in production since the early 1900s. However, in other regions, women, and especially women of color, remain largely underrepresented in the film industry.
According to the Los Angeles Times, women of color receive the highest median and average Metacritic scores, indicating overall more favorable reviews than white men and women, as well as men of color. Considering films directed by women of color rate so favorable, yet only account for a small percentage of filmmakers, there is surely a pool of untapped talent waiting for their recognition. Diversifying the film industry, specifically behind the camera, would increase the quality and variety of movies and films all around the world.
Don’t miss Four Daughters which will be released to the public on July 5th, 2023, and will be available to stream on Plex TV.
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