A Tale of Love and Desire

At a university in Paris, eighteen-year-old Ahmed meets Tunisian Farah during a lecture on erotic Arabic literature. Farah thinks it's wonderful, but Ahmed considers it highly inappropriate. Ahmed quickly and deeply falls in love with Farah and offers to show her Paris. But much of the city is unknown territory for Ahmed as well. He resists his desire, but Farah's openness and self-assurance confuse him. Thanks to Farah and the sensual Arabic texts, including The Fragrant Garden of Sheikh Nefzaoui, Ahmed discovers his own sexuality. Portrayed strongly by Sami Outalbali and Zbeida Belhajamor, Ahmed and Farah move in their own way between instinct and reflection, between repression and expression. A timeless story of longing, fear of the unknown and surrender to love.

This film is presented in cooperation with International Film Festival Assen | Women & Film and introduced by artistic director en programmer Henriëtte Poelman.