Four Daughters

Official Oscar^©Selection—Tunisia | Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary, Cannes Film Festival

The life of Olfa, a Tunisian mother of four daughters, wavers between brightness and shadow. Her two eldest daughters cut ties with the family to join Islamic extremists in Syria. To examine how the sisters were radicalized, director Kaouther Ben Hania hires two professional actors to play Olfa’s missing daughters, Rahma and Ghofrane. Though Olfa is present, another actor portrays her during moments too intense for the mother to depict herself.

Olfa’s remaining daughters, Eya and Tayssir, participate in the documentary directly, and the ensemble reenacts painful, pivotal moments that comprise the family’s narrative. The family’s reenactment enables them to assert a trace of agency over their complex and devastating story. Simultaneously, Eva and Tayssir temporarily reinstate their dynamic of sisterhood, if only in fiction. Four Daughters explores the complexities of generational trauma with radical honesty and exceptional care. The unique documentary format successfully paints an intimate familial journey of hope, loss, rebellion, and sisterhood.

Introduction by Samhita Sunya (VAFF).

“Radical in its honesty and courage.”
–Hollywood Reporter, Lovia Gyarkya

International Oscar Contenders Middle Eastern & South Asian Cinema Women in Film

Date

Saturday, October 28

Time

5:15 PM

Location

Violet Crown 1 & 2