Aïcha

• Mehdi M. Barsaoui
• 125 min
• Tunisien, France, Italy, Saudiarabia, Qatar
• 2024
• Fiction

Twenty-something Aya fakes her own death and escapes to freedom in Tunis under the name Amira, but finds herself in trouble with corrupt police and sexist men of power in an exciting, Tarik Saleh-esque thriller drama.

When the minibus taking Aya to her hotel job in the nearest town crashes off the road, she sees it as the chance to escape the hopeless grind of her parents’ home, an arranged marriage, and a lover who never keeps his promises. With a new name and a fresh start, she plans to live the life she wants in the big city. But when her new "flatmate" turns out to have hidden intentions in relation to their nightlife, everything goes awry. Aïcha portrays how women in Tunisia must deal not only with conservative family traditions, misogyny, and sexism but also with corruption and oppression from the police and the state in post-revolutionary Tunisia. Debut actress Fatma Sfar is magnetic as Aya/Amira/Aïcha, who ultimately gets her long-awaited revenge.

- Camilla Larsson

• Thriller
• Drama
• Samhälle
• Motstånd
• Makt
• Stad