Tunisian drama 'Foreign Body' to screen at Zawya Cinema

CAIRO – 11 January 2018: French-Tunisian drama “Foreign Body” will screen at Zawya Cinema on Sunday, January 14, 2018.

The fourth feature film from director Raja Amari, “Foreign Body” is both the story of a young woman seeking to create her own future and a commentary on the immigration crisis that defies media stereotypes. Set in France, the movie follows Samia (Sarra Hannachi), an illegal immigrant who fled Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution. In Tunisia, she ratted on her abusive Islamist brother, and now fears he could track her down.

It is in France that she finds hope for a life away from him, and she is taken in by a young man named Imed (Salim Kechiouche). While they become friends, his former Islamist ties put her on edge, especially with his connections to her brother. Samia then meets Leila (Hiam Abbas) an elegant middle-class woman who becomes her employer.

Director Amari takes care to focus on Samia's emotional journey rather than simply document what she does, allowing viewers to understand the nuances of her struggles as a fish out of water, far away from home in a foreign land. Her previous films include “Satin Rouge”, “Buried Secrets” and “Anonymes”.

“Foreign Body” premiered on September 8, 2016, at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the RiverRun International Film Festival's Jury Prize for Best Screenplay in 2017.