French-Tunisian director Erige Sehiri‘s “Promised Sky,” which has its world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, has debuted its trailer. Luxbox is handling world sales. French distribution is by Jour2Fête.
Sehiri’s last film, “Under the Fig Trees,” played in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2022, and was selected to represent Tunisia at the 2023 Academy Awards.
“Promised Sky” follows Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, who has lived in Tunisia for 10 years. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a strong-willed student carrying her family’s hopes. The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and strength.
The screenplay is by Sehiri, Anna Ciennik and Malika Cécile Louati.
Commenting on the relationship between Tunisians and migrants from other parts of Africa, Sehiri says: “As a Tunisian woman myself, I’m deeply frustrated to see that we can’t welcome migrants with dignity, even though we’re from a country with such a wide diaspora ourselves. We act as if all of us weren’t living on the same continent, as if all of us weren’t Africans.”
Tensions in Tunisia over the issue of migration have risen recently. Sehiri comments: “At first, it was not my intention to document what was happening in Tunisia, but over time, the movie began to mirror the political situation of the country. Reality caught up with the story we were writing.
“With mass arrests and raids taking place all around Tunisia, we began to ask ourselves: how can we breathe these tensions into our story without turning our characters into outdated, reductive stereotypes? We were trying to have some perspective on what was happening, to avoid any unnecessary violence on screen. We wanted to see these women live their lives, in spite of everything.”
The cinematography is by Frida Marzouk, who worked with Abdellatif Kechiche on “Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) and, more recently, with Lina Soualem for her documentary “Bye Bye Tiberias” (2023).
The cast includes Aïssa Maiga, Debora Lobe Naney, Laetitia Ky, Estelle Kenza Dogbo, Foued Zaazaa, Mohamed Grayaa and Touré Blamassi.
The producers are Didar Domehri and Erige Sehiri for Maneki Films and Henia Production. The co-producer is Canal+. It is made in association with Mad Solutions and Pathé Touch Afrique, and with the participation of TV5 Monde.