CANNES 2025 — Acclaimed French-Tunisian director Erige Sehiri is making a highly anticipated return to the Cannes Film Festival with her second feature, Promised Sky. Set to have its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section, this film will be showcased from May 13 to May 24, 2025.
Promised Sky is inspired by the real events that unfolded in Tunisia, where sub-Saharan migrants faced violent media targeting and social hostility. Amidst political turmoil and aggressive rhetoric, these migrants were subjected to arbitrary arrests and expulsions. Sehiri’s film offers a nuanced and poignant portrayal of the human cost of these circumstances, exploring how crisis and tension give birth to both solidarity and conflict.
Erige Sehiri explains her approach: “What interests me most is moving beyond the migrant archetype. I wanted to create characters who feel real, complex, and unexpected, capable of challenging the audience.” Through a powerful yet subtle lens, Sehiri brings to life the stories of individuals caught in a world shaped by hostility and fear.
The film follows Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist living in Tunis, whose home becomes a sanctuary for Naney, a young mother hoping for a better future, and Jolie, a determined student carrying the weight of her family’s dreams. Their fragile sense of solidarity is tested when a little orphan girl enters their lives, exposing the fragility and resilience of their bonds in the face of a tense and unpredictable social climate.
Starring Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky, Deborah Naney, and Tunisian actor Mohamed Grayaa, Promised Sky explores themes of refuge, solidarity, and the complexities of human connection during times of societal crisis. Directed and co-produced by Erige Sehiri, the film features cinematography by Frida Marzouk, who previously collaborated with Sehiri on Under the Fig Trees and has worked on the John Wick series. The film is distributed in the Arab World by MAD Distribution.
Erige Sehiri is known for her blend of documentary realism and narrative cinema. Her debut feature, Under the Fig Trees, premiered at the 54th Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2022, where it garnered international acclaim and was selected to represent Tunisia at the 95th Academy Awards. The film went on to be showcased at major international festivals and released in over 20 countries.
A passionate advocate for freedom of expression and media literacy, Sehiri is also a co-founder of the media outlet INKYFADA and the Tunisian NGO Al KHATT. She is a founding member of Rawiyat–Sisters in Film, a collective dedicated to supporting women filmmakers across the Arab World and its diaspora.
With Promised Sky, Erige Sehiri continues her exploration of themes of migration, human resilience, and solidarity. As she returns to Cannes, her second feature promises to be an emotional and thought-provoking journey through the heart of societal conflict.
