The Scarecrows

Zina fell in love with a man who sold her as a slave to a terrorist group. After she escaped together with Djo, both women return to their homeland Tunisia. They are severely traumatised and face a hostile society. Filmed close to the bone by Tunisian master Nouri Bouzid.

Tunis, 2013. Zina and Djo return home from the Syrian front, where they were held by Islamic terrorists, whom they joined voluntarily. Now they are treated as pariahs by society. Djo, who is pregnant, has stopped speaking. She is writing a book with pencil on paper called ‘Halal Rape’. Zina, whose baby was taken away, now is considered fair game for any man who encounters her on the street.

Zina’s case is taken on by activist lawyer Nadia (played by Tunisian legend Afef Ben Mahmoud). Helped by Driss, a young man persecuted for his homosexuality, they begin searching for the man who seduced Zina to come to Syria, but who sold her as a slave and left. Zina and Nadia are determined to find justice. But for Djo, the agony of what happened to her may be too much to bear.