(LA PETITE DERNIÈRE)

Authenticity and empathy run through actress-turned-director Hafsia Herzi’s tender, beautifully observed coming-of-age tale, adapted from Fatima Daas’s acclaimed autofiction novel of the same name. Set in the Parisian suburbs, the story follows 17-year-old Fatima (Nadia Melliti), the youngest daughter in a French Algerian Muslim family. A bright student, she enrols in a philosophy program at a prestigious university in Paris, stepping into a world far removed from her conservative upbringing. As Fatima navigates her new environment, she grapples with reconciling her faith, familial expectations, and her emerging attraction to women.

Notes by David O’Mahony

Queer Palm and Best Actress Award, Official Competition, Cannes International Film Festival 2025.

Screening as part of IFI French Film Festival 2025.