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Erige Sehiri's PROMISED SKY to opens 78th Cannes’ Un Certain Regard
30 April 2025
Erige Sehiri’s PROMISED SKY will open this year’s Un Certain Regard at the 78th Festival de Cannes. The festival will run from May 13th to the 24th, and the film will be screened following the Un Certain Regard Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, May 14th, with the ceremony scheduled to begin at 7 pm. This marks an exciting start for the film, which brings a powerful and moving story to the global stage.
This marks Sehiri’s second appearance at Cannes after her breakout debut UNDER THE FIG TREES, which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in 2022 and was later selected as Tunisia’s official submission to the 95th Academy Awards. With a background in journalism and documentary, Sehiri has become known for blending realism with deeply personal narratives that resonate across borders.
Set against the backdrop of real events in Tunisia, PROMISED SKY explores — through a quiet yet powerful lens — the tension and solidarity that emerge in times of crisis. “What interests me most is moving beyond the migrant archetype by creating characters who feel real, complex, unexpected, and capable of challenging the audience,” says director Erige Sehiri.
PROMISED SKY follows Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist who lives in Tunis. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a strong-willed student carrying her family’s hopes. The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and strength.
Starring Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky, Deborah Naney, and Tunisian actor Mohamed Grayaa, PROMISED SKY is directed and co-produced by Erige Sehiri, produced by Didar Domehri, lensed by Frida Marzouk, who has worked with Sehiri before on UNDER THE FIG TREES and was involved in all the JOHN WICK movies. It is also distributed in the Arab World by MAD Distribution.
Beyond filmmaking, Sehiri has long been active in media and civil society. She co-founded INKYFADA, a digital platform for investigative journalism, and the Tunisian NGO Al Khatt, which advocates for press freedom and media literacy. She is also a founding member of Rawiyat–Sisters in Film, a collective supporting women filmmakers from the Arab world and its diaspora.
With PROMISED SKY, Sehiri cements her voice as one of the most urgent and humanistic storytellers in contemporary Arab cinema—returning to Cannes with a film that speaks directly to the world’s most pressing realities.
This marks Sehiri’s second appearance at Cannes after her breakout debut UNDER THE FIG TREES, which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight in 2022 and was later selected as Tunisia’s official submission to the 95th Academy Awards. With a background in journalism and documentary, Sehiri has become known for blending realism with deeply personal narratives that resonate across borders.
Set against the backdrop of real events in Tunisia, PROMISED SKY explores — through a quiet yet powerful lens — the tension and solidarity that emerge in times of crisis. “What interests me most is moving beyond the migrant archetype by creating characters who feel real, complex, unexpected, and capable of challenging the audience,” says director Erige Sehiri.
PROMISED SKY follows Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist who lives in Tunis. Her home becomes a refuge for Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a strong-willed student carrying her family’s hopes. The arrival of a little orphan girl challenges their sense of solidarity in a tense social climate, revealing both their fragility and strength.
Starring Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky, Deborah Naney, and Tunisian actor Mohamed Grayaa, PROMISED SKY is directed and co-produced by Erige Sehiri, produced by Didar Domehri, lensed by Frida Marzouk, who has worked with Sehiri before on UNDER THE FIG TREES and was involved in all the JOHN WICK movies. It is also distributed in the Arab World by MAD Distribution.
Beyond filmmaking, Sehiri has long been active in media and civil society. She co-founded INKYFADA, a digital platform for investigative journalism, and the Tunisian NGO Al Khatt, which advocates for press freedom and media literacy. She is also a founding member of Rawiyat–Sisters in Film, a collective supporting women filmmakers from the Arab world and its diaspora.
With PROMISED SKY, Sehiri cements her voice as one of the most urgent and humanistic storytellers in contemporary Arab cinema—returning to Cannes with a film that speaks directly to the world’s most pressing realities.
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