''The Island of Forgiveness'' is a 2022 Tunisian-Italian drama film directed by

Ridha Behi Ridha Behi is a Tunisian director and producer. He is known for The Magic Box and Always Brando (2011). Career Ridha Behi studied sociology and obtained a master's degree in 1973 at the Paris Nanterre University and a PhD at the Ecole Prati ...

and starring Chedly Arfaoui, Badis Behi, and Mohamed Ali Ben Jemaa. The film follows Andrea Licari, a successful author and professor of Italian descent who returns to his birthplace of Djerba,

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, to fulfill his mother's wish of scattering her ashes there. Along the way, he confronts his past traumas and seeks forgiveness for himself and others. The film premiered at the 44th

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year sin ...

, where it won the Silver Pyramid for Best Director and the

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

Award for Best Screenplay. It also received six nominations at the 2022

Carthage Film Festival The Carthage Film Festival (CFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Tunis and founded in 1966. It is also called by its abbreviation JCC, from its French name, , or by its Arabic title, (''Cinema Days of Carthage''). Initially bienn ...

, including the Golden Tanit for Best Feature Film. The film was praised for its cinematography, music, and performances, especially by Chedly Arfaoui, who played the older Andrea. The film was inspired by Behi's own personal experience of returning to Tunisia after living abroad for many years. He co-wrote the script with Ziad Hamzeh, who also served as one of the producers. The film was shot on location in Djerba and

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, with a budget of $1 million. The film features a score composed by Amine Bouhafa and songs by Tunisian singer

Emel Mathlouthi Emel Mathlouthi ( ar, آمال المثلوثي) also known as Emel, born 11 January 1982), is a Tunisian singer-songwriter, musician, arranger and producer. She rose to fame with her protest song "Kelmti Horra" ("My Word is Free"), which became a ...

. The film was released in Tunisia on March 15, 2022, and in Italy on April 22, 2022. It received positive reviews from critics and audiences, who praised its emotional and humanistic approach to the themes of identity, exile, and reconciliation. The film has a rating of 6.7/10 on IMDb¹ and 7.5/10 on ČSFD.cz, a Czech-Slovak film database. The film was also selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.

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References

{{reflist 2022 films 2020s Italian films 2020 drama films