2025 UNI French Film Festival

This documentary by Kaouther Ben Hania uses an audacious formal conceit to tell the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters to answer the question of how and why the Tunisian woman’s two eldest daughters were radicalized. Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique work of nonfiction cinema that pushes against the conventional boundaries of the documentary form to explore the nature of memory, rebellion, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

Set in the terrestrial majesty of the Sahel, Banel & Adama is a tragic romance of two young lovers facing the challenges of independence and tradition. The fated lovers have plans that do not include the expectations of others, until the rains do not come, the cattle begin to die, the men leave and Banel, once lovelorn and lost in responsibility, is called to a life they had not planned. Banel & Adama is a lyrical odyssey that takes a hypnotic descent into mythic fabulism with the profundity of a timeless fable.

Eight-year-old Vicky has an unusual gift: she can recreate any scent she comes across, even that of her beloved mother, Joanne. When Vicky’s estranged aunt suddenly returns to their mountain town, the invocation of her fragrance plunges the young girl back in time to unravel the mystery of Joanne’s fiery past with her now sister-in-law. The Five Devils forges a witchy and wildly imaginative fable out of family secrets and queer romance.