Oscar-nominated Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania is ready to debut her much-anticipated follow-up to the history-making The Man Who Sold His Skin next month at the Cannes Film Festival.
Yep, Four Daughters, or Olfa’s Daughters (Les Filles D’Olfa), which is starring Arab mega-star Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabry, which has been officially selected for the main competition at this year’s fest, going up against new films from Wim Wenders, Ken Loach, and Wes Anderson.
While there are scant details about the film as of yet, we know Sabry will be playing Olfa, a mother to what we can assume to be her four daughters.
“Great day for me and for Tunisian and Arab cinemas!” wrote the actor on Instagram. “Olfa’s Daughters by Kaouther Ben Hania is selected at the Official Competition of Festival De Cannes.”
Ben Hania’s last effort was the first Tunisian film in history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, telling the tale of of a Syrian refugee who becomes a living art piece for an avant garde artist, inspired by a true story.
Her previous films include 2006’s Me, My Sister and the Thing, 2013’s Woden Hand and Challat of Tunis, 2016’s Zaineb Hates the Snow, and 2017’s Beauty and the Dogs.
Sabry has previously made history internationally as well, becoming the first Arab woman to be serve on the jury of the Venice Film Festival in 2019.
“I am proud to be one of the jury members of Venice Film Festival and I also feel proud that veteran directors Emir Kusurica and Antoinette Liowill be the jury presidents. I also am happy that this announcement coincides with the release of my movie ‘El-Feel-el Azra’a (The Blue Elephant) Part 2 which achieved huge success across the Arab world. I hope to be a good ambassador for Arab art at the oldest festival in the world, and one of the three most important festivals in the world,” Sabry wrote at the time.