A Tale of Love and Desire (French: Une histoire d'amour et de désir) is a 2021 Tunisian drama film directed by Leyla Bouzid and co-produced by Sandra da Fonseca and Olivier Père. The film stars Sami Outalbali and Zbeida Belhajamor in the lead roles whereas Diong-Kéba Tacu, Aurélia Petit, Mahia Zrouki and Bellamine Abdelmalek made supportive roles. The film premiered on 1 September 2021, and received positive reviews from critics.
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Synopsis
The film revolves around an erotic Arabian love affair between Ahmed, an 18-year old, French of Algerian origin, and Farah, a young Tunisian girl.
Cast
Sami Outalbali as Ahmed Ouannas
Zbeida Belhajamor as Farah Kallel
Diong-Kéba Tacu as Saidou
Aurélia Petit as Professeur Anne Morel
Mahia Zrouki as Dalila
Bellamine Abdelmalek as Karim
Mathilde Lamusse as Léa
Samir El Hakim as Hakim
Khemissa Zarouel as Faouzia
Sofia Lesaffre as Malika
Baptiste Carrion-Weiss as Damien
Charles Poitevin as Garçon rue Mouffetard
Omar Khasb as Garçon bagarre cité
Zaineb Bouzid as Chiraz
Production
The film was directed by Leyla Bouzid and co-produced by Sandra da Fonseca and Olivier Père.
Release
The film premiered on 1 September 2021.
The film was selected in the official competition for Best feature film in the 27th edition of the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in October 2021 in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
Reception
The received positive reviews from critics at the Cannes Film Festival in July 101`. In France, the film averages 4/5 on the AlloCiné from 25 press reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.0/10.