Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, Four Daughters is a Documentary film that tells the stories of a Tunisian family — Olfa and her daughters (Ghofrane, Rahma, Tayssir, and Eya) — while challenging methods of nonfiction storytelling. The film explores the struggles of women, a spectrum of extremes, and radicalization while highlighting memory, grief, and truth in the most raw and … Read More
By Samantha Cox Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters retells the story of a mother, Olfa, whose eldest daughters, Ghofrane and Rahma, disappear to join ISIS. It is a documentary that both recreates what happened and lets the real family recount the events leading up to the disappearance. In the beginning, the two youngest daughters recount the time their mother had … Read More
MacKenzie Davis’ WOACA heralds this programme’s veneration for humanity’s unspoken daily traumas. Largely shot using a single camera set-up, a woman stands stoically before her bathroom mirror and performs her ablutions. Staring out from the mirror, directly at the viewer, the meticulous routine, normalized over her lifetime, grows increasingly excruciating. When a seemingly insignificant pimple appears, Davis takes aim at … Read More
Short Cuts 2023 Programme 05 is an interesting medley of stories showcasing people from different backgrounds experiencing loss. The two that specifically stood out to me were WOACA directed by Mackenzie Davis and Sawo Matang directed by Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto. These shorts start very pleasant. WOACA comments on the vanity of women in society and questions the consequences of stripping … Read More
Four Daughters is an emotional and poignant docudrama that restages a tragic news story in Tunisia with professional actors. The film tells the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters, which made international headlines because the two eldest – Rahma and Ghofrane – left their family and decided to join the Islamic State in Libya. Director Kaouther Ben Hania … Read More
