The Party Film Sales has closed several territory deals on Mehdi M. Barsaoui ‘s “Aïcha,” ahead of its world premiere in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival . Variety debuts its trailer here.

Among the buyers are Cineart for Benelux, La Aventure Audiovisual for Spain, Discovery for former Yugoslavia, Jour2fête for France, I Wonder for Italy and Hakke Distribution for Tunisia. Cinewaves has acquired theatrical rights for the Middle East and North Africa, and Sunnyland Film, part of the A.R.T. Group, has secured digital sales rights for the same regions.

The film follows Aya, who is in her late twenties. She feels trapped in her life with her parents in southern Tunisia, seeing no prospects for change. One day, the minivan she commutes in daily between her town and the hotel where she works crashes, leaving her as the sole survivor. Realizing this could be her chance for a fresh start, she flees to Tunis under a new identity, but everything is soon jeopardized when she becomes the main witness to a police blunder.

In a statement, the director said: “The film explores the lives of Tunisian youths, whose aspirations are often thwarted. It's also a film about new beginnings and second chances, and the complex pressures on Tunisian society, especially on women. ‘Aïcha’ portrays a yearning for freedom and a desire to live life to the fullest—a paradox where genuine freedom for the protagonist can only be attained through her demise.

“In her pursuit of a better life, Aïcha faces a multitude of obstacles: parental authority, submissiveness, misogyny, sexism—and more generally the limitations placed upon women in society. Most importantly, she confronts the corruption and power of the police, their pervasive influence and dominance over the population.”

The film features a cast led by Fatma Sfar, Nidhal Saadi, Yasmine Dimassi and Hela Ayed.

Habib Attia for Cinetelefilms and Marc Irmer for Dolce Vita Films are the producers. Chantal Fischer, Flaminio Zadra, Antoine Khalife, and Faisal Baltyuor are the co-producers.

Barsaoui’s debut feature film “A Son” premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section, where Sami Bouajila won the best actor award for his performance. The film was released in 20 countries and became the first Tunisian film to receive a César award. “Aïcha” is his second feature film.