Feature film A Tale of Love and Desire, by Leyla Bouzid, opens Franco Film Festival in the UAE on Friday, March 25th. The film will have another screening on the day following the opening night.
This comes ahead of the film’s commercial release at Cinema Aki, as of May 5th. Furthermore, the film will screen at the French Cultural Center in Mauritania on April 12th.
The film received considerable critical acclaim on Arab and international levels,with Harvard Crimson writer Sofia Andrade saying, “The film is aesthetically and emotionally spectacular…leaves its audience rapt and aching for more.”
While Lee Marshal at Screen Daily described it as, “warm, emotional, and lovely in every imaginable way.”
Moreover, Latita Ratan wrote for the News in 24 website saying that, “Leyla Bouzid's masterwork, full of beauty and poetry and represented by talented actors.”
And according to Mohsen Amin in Al-Ain newspaper, who described the film as, "a Tunisian film that deals with the question of identity and the conflict within oneself."
‘A Tale of Love and Desire,’ landed its world premiere at Cannes’ International Critics' Week. Moreover, it won the Best Actor award and the Diamond Valois award at Angoulême Francophone Film Festival.
Besides, it received the Jury Prize for Best First and Second Film at the Medfilm Film Festival in Rome.
The film also was featured in the official competition of Carthage Film Festival (JCC) in Tunisia and was screened at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Prior to this, it was screened at several prestigious festivals including, Zurich Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, CINEMANIA Film Festival, Miami International Film Festival (GEMS) and Cairo International Film Festival.
The film follows the story of Ahmed, an 18-year-old French teenager of Algerian origin who meets Farah, a young Tunisian girl, and falls head over heels in love with her. While discovering a collection of sensual and erotic Arab literature, Ahmed tries to resist his desire towards Farah.
Written and directed by Leyla Bouzid, A Tale of Love and Desire stars Sami Outalbali, Zbeida Belhajamor, Samir Elhakim, Diong-Kéba Tacu, and Aurélia Petit, and is produced by Blue Monday Productions and Pyramide International. MAD Solutions handles the film’s distribution across the Arab world, while Pyramide International handles the film’s worldwide distribution.
Born and raised in Tunisia, director Leyla Bouzid went to Paris in 2003 to study French literature at the Sorbonne, where she joined La Fémis’ Directing department. After working on several award-winning short films, Leyla directed her debut feature, As I Open my Eyes (a.k.a. a Peine J'ouvre les Yeux), which was screened at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, before winning more than forty international awards and achieving success during its simultaneous theatrical release in France and Tunisia.
A Tale of Love and Desire is her second feature film.
It world premiered at Cannes Film Festival and was selected at prestigious film festivals.