Film Screening | Under The Fig Trees

Directed by Erige Sehiri | Tunisia/France/Germany/Qatar | 2022 | 92 min | Arabic with English subtitles

Tunisia’s official entry for the 2023 Oscars. On a hot summer day, a crew of workers — men and women, young and old — arrive at dawn at a picturesque fig orchard in northwest Tunisia. We eavesdrop, through the sun-dappled leaves of the fig trees, on the young women stealing away precious moments from the foreman’s watchful gaze. Meanwhile, the older women, tasked with the careful job of packing the tender fruit, watch and reminisce together as well. They joke, argue, debate, gossip, flirt, all the while painting an unhurried but riveting portrait of everyday life in the rural society, where class, gender, and circumstance often don’t allow for such personal freedoms. Set over the course of a single day, and with a cast made up of an intergenerational ensemble of non-professional actors, Under the Fig Trees is “an elegant, understated tapestry of complex interactions [and] a pleasurable and immersive experience”

Born in 1982, Erige Sehiri is a Tunisian-French writer, director and producer, as well as a former journalist. Her selected filmography includes Railway Men (As-Sekka, 2018, doc.), Under the Fig Trees (Taht al shajara, 2022).

Please note that our library has limited seats and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. Our doors open at 6:30PM and the screening starts at 7:00 PM or earlier in case the space reaches its full capacity. Thank you for understanding!