Twin Cities Arab Film Festival: Aïcha

Dates

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About

19th Arab Film Festival

Friday, September 26 at 7:00 PM

ABOUT THE FILM

Part thriller, part police procedural, and part coming-of-age story, Aïcha depicts the life of Aya, a young woman in her twenties who still lives with her parents in southern Tunisia. She feels exploited by her family and trapped in a life without prospects. One day, when traveling home from her unfulfilling job as a hotel maid, her bus crashes, and she is the only survivor. Seizing on the unfortunate accident as an opportunity, Aya flees to Tunis and starts a new life under a new identity, where she strives to make her own way in the city. But everything is compromised when she becomes the main witness to a violent police blunder that forces her to face her family and her past. Aïcha is a scathing depiction of the failures of a corrupt government system and the repressive nature of many traditional family dynamics.

Content warning: This film depicts scenes of violence against women and sexual assault.

FILMMAKER BIO

Mehdi M. Barsaoui studied editing in Tunis before completing his director training at DAMS in Bologna. He has directed three short films, which have received recognition and awards at several international festivals. His first feature film, A Son, was an official selection at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival, where it received two awards, including Best Actor for Sami Bouajila. Aïcha is his second feature film.

PRESENTED BY MIZNA

Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, film, art, and cultural production centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than 25 years, Mizna has been creating a decolonized cultural space to reflect the expansiveness of our community and to foster exchange, examine ideas, and engage audiences in meaningful art.