Les Filles d'Olfa (2023)
Genre: Documentary
Duration: 107 minuten
Alternative title: Four Daughters
Country:
France / Saudi Arabia / Germany / Tunisia
Directed by: Kaouther Ben Hania
Stars: Eya Chikahoui, Tayssir Chikhaoui and Olfa Hamrouni
IMDb score:
7,4 (4.617)
Releasedate: 5 July 2023
Les Filles d'Olfa plot
The life of Olfa, Tunisian and mother of 4 daughters, fluctuates between shadow and light. One day her two eldest daughters disappear. To make up for their absence and tell the story of Olfa and her daughters, Kaouther Ben Hania calls on professional actresses. An intimate journey full of hope, rebellion, violence, transference and sisterhood that will question the very foundations of our societies.
Reviews & comments
Mr Thee
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- 1593 messages
- 1235 votes
Four Daughters (2024) #IFFR
Not surprising, indeed it is about a mother with her daughters, but the documentary is unique because of the form in which the story is told. And that in turn creates beautiful stories that provide insight into the relationships.
After the sad family story comes the ending that clarifies everything.
An interesting Q & A followed in which the director and producer took the questions and direction into their own hands. This shows that the director first intended to make a normal documentary. To her surprise, it is actually a recognized form of therapy by letting people relive their experience on stage! In my opinion a successful experiment. It took four weeks after she had contacted the mother, who was maligned in the media.
Did it bring anything to the family itself? The director was clear about that. They are now enjoying the success of the film, but have also become closer together during the film.
Question from the audience: is the cliché image of the Arab woman confirmed here? Director: “I am not afraid of clichés and as Hitchcock said: it is better to start with a cliché than to end with one.”
Translated from Dutch · View original
mrklm
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- 12860 messages
- 10708 votes
Olfa Hamrouni and her two youngest daughters Eya and Tayssir play themselves in a reconstruction of the family history. The eldest daughter Ghofrane and Rahma have “fallen prey to the wolf” and are played by Ichrak Matar and Nour Karaoui respectively and Hind Sabri takes on the role of Olfa in the most emotional scenes. Majrd Mastoura plays all men. Step by step, layer by layer, we discover what happened to Ghofrane and Rahma and how they influenced the lives of their mother and their sisters. The use of professional actors is an absolute bonus, especially because of the bond they build with Olfa, Eya and Tayssir. As a result, the emphasis is not only on the pain of the past, but also on the good memories and the mutual bond. There is laughter and crying in equal measure and the emotions are clearly genuine.
Translated from Dutch · View original
hvdriel
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- 397 messages
- 357 votes
What a documentary, meta-documentary, fictional documentary!
The mother and her two youngest daughters reenact their own lives. The two eldest daughters have fallen prey to the wolf, we learn at the beginning of the film. Actresses take over their roles, while 1 actor takes on the male roles. In difficult situations, an actress takes over the mother role. Sometimes the three women discuss among themselves and with the actors whether an event really happened that way, and the director does not hesitate to intervene.
What unfolds is a breathtaking story about the changing roles of two generations of women in Tunisia during Ben Ali's presidency, the revolution, and the religious upheaval.
So natural, so relieving and also so sad.
I watched breathlessly.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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