
Erige Sehiri is a French-Tunisian director and producer. She began her film career in documentary, and directed the acclaimed Railway Men, which captured the daily struggles of Tunisian railway workers. In 2022, she wrote, directed, and produced her first feature-length film, Under the Fig Trees, an intimate portrait of youth and labor, set in a rural fig orchard. It had its premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes, and was selected to represent Tunisia at the Academy Awards. Beyond her work in film, Sehiri is a co-founder of the independent media group Inkyfada and the Tunisian NGO Ai Khatt, and a founding member of the Rawiyat—Sisters in Film collective, which supports women filmmakers across the Arab world and its diaspora. Promised Sky, her second feature, premiered in Cannes as the opening film of Un Certain Regard.
Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, has lived in Tunisia for 10 years. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a strong-willed student who carries the hopes of her family. The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and their strength.
Director Erige Sehiri
Producer Didar Domehri, Erige Sehiri
Screenwriter Erige Sehiri, Anna Ciennik, Malika Cécile Louati
Cinematographer Frida Marzouk
Art Director Amel Rezgui
Editor Nadia Ben Rachid
Sound Aymen Laabidi, Alexis Jung, Simon Apostolou
Music Valentin Hadjadj
Production Companies Maneki Films, Henia Production
International Sales Company Luxbox Films
Distributor MAD Distribution