Four Daughters

Inventive docu-fiction about the complex relationship between a Tunisian mother and her daughters. One day, Olfa's two eldest daughters disappear. Now, together with professional actors, Olfa and her remaining daughters reenact their history in a unique hybrid film combining fiction, theatre and documentary. Honest and courageous.

‘I am like Rose in the movie Titanic,’ Olfa Hamrouni says. ‘She tells her life story and actors re-enact it.’ Olfa has four daughters. Eya and Tayssir, the two youngest, still live with her. The two eldest, Rahma and Ghofrane, ‘were eaten by a wolf’, Olfa says. When they were 15 and 16, they suddenly disappeared. To tell the story underneath this tragedy, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin, opening film of the Movies that Matter Festival 2021), invites the help of actors. Two of them play Olfa’s missing daughters, one plays Olfa in the scenes that are too traumatic for her to re-enact. Eya and Tayssir play themselves.

‘This film will open up old wounds again,’ Eya warns. It does. Olfa delves deep into her own childhood and her life as a young woman – a history filled with fear and abuse. Hearing her daughters tell about their upbringing, forces Olfa to confront her own darkest impulses. During this intimate journey, Olfa and her family slowly get to understand themselves and each other from new perspectives. Winner of the L’Oeil d’or for best documentary at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.