Under The Fig Trees
On a hot summer morning, a crew of workers arrive at a fig orchard in northwest Tunisia. Through sun-drenched leaves, the youngest of the women steal precious moments of respite away from the foreman’s watchful gaze. Meanwhile, the elders, tasked with the careful job of packing the tender fruit, watch them and reminisce. They joke, argue, gossip and flirt, all the while painting an unhurried but riveting portrait of everyday life in a rural society where class and gender do not allow for personal freedoms.
Set over the course of a single day, utilizing a cast made up of an intergenerational ensemble of non-professional actors, UNDER THE FIG TREES reveals an "elegant, understated tapestry of complex interactions" (The Hollywood Reporter) that demonstrate how the bonds of sisterhood act as a transformative expression of resistance.
Cast
- Fide Fdhili
- Feten Fdhili
- Ameni Fdhili
- Samar Sifi
- Leila Ouhebi
- Hneya Ben Elhedi Sbahi
- Gaith Mendassi
DVD Features
Discs: 1
- "Sehiri’s film is an elegant, understated tapestry of complex interactions...a pleasurable and immersive experience."
- "Tunisia’s Oscar submission is a sun-dappled gem focused on a group of teenage girls."
- "A gently appealing choral work from Tunisia with a strong understanding of rhythm and balance that marks a strong first feature for documentary-trained Erige Sehiri."
- "Under the Fig Trees is a big-minded film that grounds its ideas about labor, sexism, faith, and modernity in the zippy rhythms of its characters’ negotiations around friendship, romance, and work."
- "Set over the course of one day, Erige Sehiri’s narrative feature debut Under the Fig Trees is a thoughtful ensemble film about the group of workers in a Tunisian fig orchard."
- "Sehiri is an intelligent observer of life."
- "[An] engaging depiction of summer flirtations and gentle exploration of sisterhood against a patriarchal backdrop. "
- "[L]ove comes up again and again in Erige Sehiri’s enchanting debut, a romantic roundelay on par with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”...."
- "A minimalism to it all, a simplicity that speaks not of a lack of sophistication but of a commitment to form, to feel. The stories that bloom here are rooted in the real, jacketed in the bruised flesh of familiar harms."
- "[A] beguiling, sun-dappled drama...."
- "The film's naturalism flows like a gentle summer's breeze."
- "As delicate and enticing as freshly-picked ripe fruit...."
- "Faces and fruits flourish in the resplendent Tunisian ensemble piece “Under the Fig Trees,” from French-born director Erige Sehiri, which maps the interpersonal relationships, mostly romantic ones, among the men and women informally hired to harvest figs by hand over the course of a single workday. [A] delicate storytelling feat...."
Awards & Recognition
New Directors Competition
Chicago Int'l. Film Festival
CineVision Award
Munich Film Festival
Golden Puffin New Visions
Reykjavik Int'l. Film Festival
Directors' Fortnight
Cannes Film Festival
Toronto Int'l. Film Festival
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
BFI London Film Festival
Philadelphia Film Festival
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