Four Daughters – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

One of the biggest surprises of this year’s Cannes Competition is a combination of fiction, documentary, police reconstruction and psychodrama. This surprising form allows one of the most acclaimed Tunisian directors Kaouther Ben Hania (Oscar nominee for The Man Who Sold His Skin) to dive deep into a story trivialised by the media.

The protagonist Olfa (in the flesh, but sometimes played by actor Hind Sabri) is a mother of four daughters from the lowlands. The two youngest are present in the film, while the disappearance of the two oldest (played by actors) is the subject of a gripping ‘investigation’.

Ben Hania looks into the power of problematic intergenerational female transmission, brings to light widely accepted domestic and systemic violence, and points out the way in which seemingly distant political transformations influence the fate of individuals. Moving, at times confrontational, certainly provocative and extremely brave, Four Daughters is also a profession of faith in female strength, resilience and solidarity.

This special screening is part of European Arthouse Cinema Day.