Tunisia
In a Tunisian coastal village lives Jannet, a young mother and worker in a textile factory. Jannet struggles to finish the construction of her modest house to free herself from the grip of her husband’s family. At the textile factory, Jannet succeeds in forming a union to protect the rights of women workers. But the boss of the factory informs them that the company is bankrupt and shutting down immediately. Jannet is devastated by the news. She does not despair and decides to take control of the factory and manage it with her comrades. This long and fierce battle will change Jannet’s personal life forever.
Mehdi Hmili is a Tunisian director, writer, producer, and a Torino Film Lab alumnus. In 2019 he participated in La Fabrique Cinémas du Monde at the Cannes Film Festival with the feature documentary Fouledh. His second feature film Streams premiered at the 74th Locarno Film Festival and won numerous awards, such as Best Actress at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival, Special Jury Award at Kolkata International Film Festival, and Best Director at Malmö Arab Film Festival. Hmili is part of the new wave of young Tunisian filmmakers and a major figure in the current Tunisian cinematographic landscape.
Moufida Fedhila is a Tunisian producer and director. She produced and directed several award-winning fiction and documentary films that were selected in prestigious international film festivals. Her films were part of La Fabrique Cinéma du Monde (72th Cannes Film Festival), Berlinale Talent, Qumra (Doha Film Institute), Durban International Film Festival and Sarajevo Film Festival. Her last film production Streams by Mehdi Hmili premiered at the 74th Locarno Film Festival. The film won numerous awards, including Best Acting Performance at the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival and the Special Jury Award at the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival.
Fedhila directed Aya, which was acquired by Netflix. The film won several awards, such as the Golden Tanit at the Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Fedhila is a key figure in the Tunisian artistic and cultural landscape, and her work has been the subject of studies by academic researchers and publications, for example in Narratives of Social Protest: Personal and Political at Columbia University, New York. Moufida Fedhila is a Film Independent (Global Media Makers) alumna.
