A rich and potent examination of immigration issues within Africa, Erige Sehiri’s moving drama portrays three female Ivorians trying to make a life for themselves in Tunisia. Roommates in the capital metropolis of Tunis, the women have also recently taken in an infant rescued from one of the many boats trying to reach Europe. With the country cracking down on residents who aren’t Tunisian citizens, and providing shelter to a child that isn’t theirs, staying one step ahead of local authorities is an omnipresent challenge for the trio. Jolie, the youngest, is a student and the only one with papers, Naney makes ends meet via various schemes, and Marie runs a clandestine Christian fellowship. Director Sehiri, whose documentary background serves her observational style well, poignantly distinguishes each of her characters’ respective challenges while also presenting their support of one another in a country that rarely makes them feel at home. —Rod Armstrong
Erige Sehiri
Erige Sehiri is a French-Tunisian director and producer. With her own production company, Henia, she develops Tunisian author-driven documentaries. She made her documentary feature debut with Railway Men (2018), followed by her first narrative feature, Under the Fig Trees (2021), which won the International New Talent Competition at the Taipei Film Festival. Promised Sky is her second fiction feature.