Tunisian Film ‘Promised Sky’ Claims Top Prize at Marrakech Film Festival

Erige Sehiri- Director, Promised Sky

Tunisian cinema stepped into the global spotlight at the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival as Promised Sky, directed by Erige Sehiri, secured the festival’s highest honour, the Golden Star Grand Prize. The win places the film among the most celebrated African and Arab works of the year, reaffirming Marrakech’s role as a launchpad for socially resonant storytelling.

Set in contemporary Tunisia, Promised Sky follows the intersecting lives of three women navigating displacement, faith and survival in a country shaped by migration flows and economic uncertainty. Their fragile sense of stability is disrupted when they shelter a young survivor of a shipwreck, turning the film into a quiet but powerful meditation on solidarity, moral responsibility and chosen family.

Anchored by performances from Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky and Debora Lobe Naney, the film avoids spectacle in favour of intimacy. Sehiri’s direction leans on observation rather than judgement, allowing moments of tenderness and tension to coexist naturally.

Awarded by an international jury led by Bong Joon-ho, the recognition at Marrakech signals growing global appetite for African stories that treat urgent themes with nuance and emotional honesty. For Tunisian cinema, Promised Sky’s triumph is both a milestone and a statement: local stories, when told with care, travel far.