What is positive cinema? Born at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2016, Positive Cinema Week is the fruit of collaboration between economist and writer Jacques Attali, and Sam Bobino, an iconic figure in the film industry (also president of the La Baule Film Festival, and awarded the National Assembly medal at the 76th Cannes Film Festival).
Why positive cinema? While cinema has often been a window onto unknown worlds, rewarding positive cinema is a way of celebrating the 7th art, which inspires hope, resilience and human kindness.
On May 26, 2023, during the Semaine du Cinéma Positif at the Cannes Film Festival, sponsored this year by Eric Judor, the Prix du Cinéma Positif was awarded to Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania for her fifth feature film "Les Filles d'Olfa". Produced by Nadim Cheikhrouha and distributed in France by Jour2Fête, the film is a rare illustration of singular beauty amid the absurd noise of the world.
Les Filles d'Olfa is a fascinating exploration of the lives of six women, faced with a complex and devastating family rift. Olfa, the mother, had four daughters: the two eldest joined Libya during the conflicts, and tried to recruit the two youngest there. The failure of this attempt and the subsequent defeat of the organization led to the arrest and imprisonment of the elder sisters.
Instead of being a documentary film about a family tragedy, Ben Hania mixes reality and re-enactment, amateurs and professionals, to confront these women with their lives and the impact of their choices. Three actresses play the mother and two older sisters, creating a fascinating dialogue with the three real women. The film unfolds in a stylized huis clos, like a laboratory experiment, where speech is set free: emotions are revealed through a story that is both intimate and collective.
The beauty that Les Filles d'Olfa seeks is that which lies hidden in the interstices of the world's absurdity, a hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered by you.
