L’Étrangère unveils its first footage ahead of its theatrical release set for June 24, 2026. Directed by Gaya Jiji, the film follows Selma, a Syrian who arrives in Bordeaux after a perilous journey, as she fights to obtain asylum and bring her son to join her.
The Stranger
Film | 2026
Cinema release: June 24, 2026
Drama | Runtime: 1h42
Directed by Gaya Jiji | Screenplay: Gaya Jiji, Sarah Angelini
Starring Zar Amir, Alexis Manenti, Amr Waked, Megan Northam, Grégoire Monsaingeon
Country: France
Selma fled Syria, leaving behind her six-year-old son and a husband who vanished in the regime’s prisons. In Bordeaux, she racks up long hours at off-the-books work while she pursues her asylum claim and tries to arrange for her son Rami to join her.
Her encounter with Jérôme, a lawyer who guides her through the process, opens up a new path to love, but also unsettles an already fragile balance. The film places the administrative ordeal, exile, and the urge to start over at the heart of an intimate drama about a woman facing several forms of separation.
The trailer spotlights the tense face-off between Selma, portrayed by Zar Amir, and Jérôme, played by Alexis Manenti, with Amr Waked in the role of Iyad. The cast also includes Megan Northam and Grégoire Monsaingeon.
Gaya Jiji unveils her second feature, following My Favorite Fabric, which screened in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018. Shot in Bordeaux, L’Étrangère extends the throughlines already at work in her cinema: exile, the female body, rebuilding, and the role of desire in a daily life scarred by war and distance.
Trailer for The Stranger
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