This feature debut from director and writer Leyla Bouzid reflects on her own experiences in Tunisia during the lead-up to the Arab Spring—or Jasmine Revolution, as it was called there. Bouzid centers her story on 18-year-old Farah (Baya Medhaffer), a middle-class girl torn between her mother and her boyfriend. Hayet (Ghalia Benali), her mum, is a kindly but very practical sort, and she’s understandably thrilled that her daughter’s been accepted to medical school. For Farah though it's all about the music – she sings in a band— with her boyfriend Bohrène (Montassar Ayari).

When her music becomes wrapped up in the complex politics of revolution she must navigate family, culture and social ideals as she journeys to adulthood.

---