Les Filles d'Olfa: a disturbing Tunisian documentary at the cinema: review and trailer

Les Filles d'Olfa, a documentary directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, was presented in competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2023. The film offers an intimate look at the life of Olfa, a Tunisian mother of four daughters, two of whom have mysteriously disappeared. To tell the story of Olfa and her daughters, the director calls on professional actresses, including Hend Sabri, Nour Karoui and Ichraq Matar, and sets up a unique cinematographic device, mixing documentary and fiction.

Although it came away from the Cannes Film Festival empty-handed, this is where the film really shines. It's a form rarely seen in cinema, and its use is deeply moving: the filmmaker herself stages the making of the documentary, its preparation, and the work of the actors as they attempt to bring to life scenes from the family's past. And all these people interact, giving the film several levels of storytelling. The whole thing is formally disconcerting.

But there's more to the story than meets the eye, and while the story may not be well known in France, it's one that made headlines in Tunisia in the 2010s. We won't go into detail about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Olfa's two eldest daughters, as the film keeps the suspense to a minimum, but the story of this absence is deeply moving.

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On the other hand, the viewer is invited to enter the intimacy of this family, and discover Olfa, a mother whose mentality is ambiguous. Her daughters constantly hear horrible insults from her mouth, threats and even physical violence. Yet her portrait is touching. The mother is portrayed as a symbol of the Tunisian woman of her generation. In the background, this society is also highly criticized. Yet another subject addressed in this richly thematic film.

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