Fresh off winning the Grand Jury Prize in Venice for The Voice of Hind Rajab (read review), Kaouther Ben Hania has shifted directly to her next project, Mimesis, which is now in production. The Cineuropa folks confirm that the film (a project she was considering along with Tu ne feras point d’images before shifting to the heartbreaking, true story in the Gaza Strip), is currently filming in France before moving to its primary location in Tunisia next month. Ben Hania reassembles key collaborators in Tanit Films producer Nadim Cheikhrouha and cinematographer Juan Sarmiento G., with a cast led by Lyne Ben Brika, Selim Chebbi, Riadh Aloui Nahdi, Rim Riahi, and Fatma Ben Saïdane. Depending on what kind of awards push The Voice of Hind Rajab receives, Ben Hania could aim for Cannes 2026 or a less rushed Venice Film Festival deadline.
Written by Ben Hania, set in 1990s Tunisia, Bouchra opposes a hostile new imam who wants to transform the family mausoleum into a mosque. Her encounter with Ahmed, a cameraman, inspires her to make a film about the mausoleum’s saint. This quest plunges her into an investigation into the origins of the cult, upending her deeply held beliefs.
Ben Hania broke out with her third feature in 2017’s Cannes Un Certain Regard selected Beauty and the Dogs (read review), followed that with 2020’s The Man Who Sold His Skin (Venice Film Festival Orizzonti section) and the remarkable 2023 Cannes competition Four Daughters (read review).
