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A SON (UN FILS)
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MUST END TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY MEHDI M. BARSAOUI
1:10 ONLY
WINNER – BEST ACTOR, SAMI BOUAJILA
César Awards (French Academy Awards), 2021
Late summer 2011, following the Arab Spring and the fall of Tunisia’s 24-year-long corrupt regime, an affluent, French-educated family is weekending in the scenic southeast. When an attack by armed Islamic extremists thrusts Fares (Sami Bouajila in a 2021 César Best Actor award-winning performance), Meriem (Najla Ben Abdallah), and their 11-year-old son into a series of intense shock waves both physical and emotional, Fares becomes quietly, wrenchingly torn between a father’s love, a man’s pride, and a thinking citizen’s moral center – amidst looming regional instability that does not discriminate. A SON (UN FILS), Barsaoui’s debut narrative feature, premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival (where Bouajila won the “Horizons” section award for Best Actor), then featured at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival and 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Previously, Sami Bouajila won the Award for Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival for DAYS OF GLORY (2006) and the César Award for Best Supporting Actor for THE WITNESSES (2007).
2019 96 MINS. TUNISIA / FRANCE / LEBANON / QATAR
IN FRENCH & ARABIC WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES ARTMATTAN FILMS
Reviews
“Superb. Deserves significant attention. Bring[s] subtlety and depth to a heart-rending subject. Barsaoui’s sensitive script delves into issues of masculinity and paternity without losing sight of the strong female character. Visual poetry.”
– Jay Weissberg, Variety
“Striking. Probes delicate questions of parenthood, masculinity and personal ego within an Arab-world context. An exciting debut from a new voice in Arab cinema. Barsaoui has a bright future ahead of him as a director of dramas that expertly capture complex human emotions within their socio-cultural, historical and political context.”
– Boyd Van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter
“Excellent…a suspenseful and emotionally draining tale. A consistently intriguing look at the shifting dynamics of coupledom and the intricacies of supply and demand in a setting where strict religious edicts still hold sway.”
– Lisa Nesselson, Screen International