Ben Hania has blazed a trail with powerful and politically poignant films featuring women and is the subject of several studies by north African cinemaKaouther Ben Hania is considered one of the leading post-revolution Tunisian film-makers. Yet, she is difficult to pinpoint as a director.Recurring themes punctuate the films of this transnational feminist director: childhood, violence against women, religion, the possible consequences of revolution, migration, the various forms of patriarchy.
2015: Olfa and her two remaining daughters are thrown into the spotlight while they mourn their loss in different ways. OlfaBen Hania is fascinated by her character. She decides to film a documentary about her but soon realises that Olfa is acting the role of the guilty, mourning mother that the media expects of her.
However, the director focuses on exchanges between the actors and the characters as they are telling their story. We are no longer dealing with a traditional documentary, but with cinema as Ben Hania understands it: documentaries or fiction films can lie, but they must always unearth a profound truth in the process.
Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)