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PROMISED SKY and MY FATHER AND QADDAFI Take Top Honors at Marrakech
08 December 2025
At the closing of the 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival, MAD Solutions’ films were awarded three prestigious prizes, with Erige Sehiri’s PROMISED SKY winning the L’Étoile d’Or Grand Prize and Best Performance for Deborah Lobé Naney, and Jihan’s MY FATHER AND QADDAFI receiving the Jury Prize.
Jihan, accepting the Jury Prize for MY FATHER AND QADDAFI, thanked the jury, the festival, the audience, and her family, saying, “Returning here after several years to share the story of my father and family and receiving this honor is incredibly meaningful to me. Thank you very much,” adding that everyone who saw the film helped carry her father’s story, as well as the justice and love he fought for.
Fresh off its triple win at Angoulême, Erige Sehiri’s PROMISED SKY arrived in Marrakech for its MENA premiere and emerged as one of the festival’s most celebrated titles. The premiere — held during the festival’s run from November 29th to December 7th — stunned audiences from its opening frame and concluded with heartfelt applause. Director Erige Sehiri and actress Aïssa Maïga attended the screening, with festivalgoers eagerly taking photos and engaging with them, reflecting the film’s strong resonance among viewers.
PROMISED SKY follows Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist living 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, and shot by Frida Marzouk — whose work spans UNDER THE FIG TREES and all JOHN WICK films. It is distributed in the Arab World by MAD Distribution.
Erige Sehiri is a French-Tunisian director, producer, and former journalist whose work blends documentary realism with narrative cinema. She began her career in documentary filmmaking,
directing the critically acclaimed On the Track (2018), which shed light on the daily struggles of Tunisian railway workers. In 2022, Sehiri wrote, directed, and produced her debut feature Under the Fig Trees, an intimate exploration of youth, work, and fleeting moments of connection in a rural fig orchard. The film premiered at the 54th Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and was selected to represent Tunisia at the 2023 Academy Awards. Since then, it has screened at major international festivals and been released in over twenty countries.
Alongside her cinematic work, Sehiri is a passionate advocate for freedom of expression and media literacy. She co-founded the media platform Inkyfada and the Tunisian NGO Al-Khat. She is also a founding member of Rawiat – Sisters in Cinema, a collective dedicated to supporting female filmmakers across the Arab World and its diaspora. This triple win at Angoulême further cements PROMISED SKY’s status as one of the most powerful and resonant films of the year, continuing to captivate audiences and critics alike.
Adding to MAD’s strong presence at the festival, MY FATHER AND QADDAFI by Libyan filmmaker Jihan received the Jury Prize, marking another milestone in the film’s acclaimed journey. Following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival — the first Libyan film in 13 years to do so — the documentary’s recognition in Marrakech underscores its emotional force and political urgency. The award also comes ahead of its MENA premiere at the Doha Film Festival, taking place from November 20th to 28th, where anticipation continues to build.
MY FATHER AND QADDAFI by Libyan director Jihan is due to screen at Qatar’s Doha Film Festival, marking its Arab World premiere. The documentary follows a daughter as she unravels the disappearance of her father, the opposition leader to Qaddafi, and pieces together her mother’s 19-year search to find him. Without any memory of her father, she tries to reconnect with him and reconcile with her Libyan identity. The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival — becoming the first Libyan film in 13 years to do so — and has participated in the Red Sea and Chicago International Film Festivals prior.
A US and Libyan production, MY FATHER AND QADDAFI is produced by Jihan (Desert Power) in association with Quiet. It is co-produced by Andreas Rocksén and William Johansson Kalén of Laika Film & Television AB, with executive producers Dave Guenette, Mohamed Soueid, and Sol Guy, and associate producers Shahla Karkouti Elms and Austin Ray. Featuring Jihan herself, Baha Sobhi Al Omary, and the late Rashid Mansur Kikhia as main characters, the 88-minute documentary is lensed by Micah Walker and Mike McLaughlin, and edited by Alessandro Dordoni, Chloe Lambourne (of the Oscar-nominated FOR SAMA), and Nicole Halova.
Throughout its production, the film received funding from several international sources, including Quiet, the Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, International Documentary Association, CineGouna Funding, International Media Support, Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund, Malmö Arab Film Festival, and the Swedish Film Institute. It also participated in several labs, including Close Up Lab, DFI QUMRA, Durban Filmmart, Between Women Filmmakers Caravan Consultancy, Medimed Euro-Med Doc Market & Pitching Forum, and First Cut Lab.
Jihan earned her BA in International and Comparative Politics, concentrating on Human Rights, Philosophy, and International Law, from the American University of Paris. She holds an MA from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, focusing on art education and storytelling. In 2012, her article ‘Libya, My Father, and I’ was published in Kalimat Magazine: Arab Thought and Culture. Jihan is dedicated to exploring how free expression can serve as a vehicle for empowerment and understanding.
With PROMISED SKY and MY FATHER AND QADDAFI both achieving major recognition at Marrakech, MAD continues to amplify bold, resonant, and boundary-pushing cinema from the Arab world and beyond. These victories highlight the filmmakers’ artistic vision and the growing global appetite for stories rooted in identity, justice, community, and memory.
Jihan, accepting the Jury Prize for MY FATHER AND QADDAFI, thanked the jury, the festival, the audience, and her family, saying, “Returning here after several years to share the story of my father and family and receiving this honor is incredibly meaningful to me. Thank you very much,” adding that everyone who saw the film helped carry her father’s story, as well as the justice and love he fought for.
Fresh off its triple win at Angoulême, Erige Sehiri’s PROMISED SKY arrived in Marrakech for its MENA premiere and emerged as one of the festival’s most celebrated titles. The premiere — held during the festival’s run from November 29th to December 7th — stunned audiences from its opening frame and concluded with heartfelt applause. Director Erige Sehiri and actress Aïssa Maïga attended the screening, with festivalgoers eagerly taking photos and engaging with them, reflecting the film’s strong resonance among viewers.
PROMISED SKY follows Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist living 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, and shot by Frida Marzouk — whose work spans UNDER THE FIG TREES and all JOHN WICK films. It is distributed in the Arab World by MAD Distribution.
Erige Sehiri is a French-Tunisian director, producer, and former journalist whose work blends documentary realism with narrative cinema. She began her career in documentary filmmaking,
directing the critically acclaimed On the Track (2018), which shed light on the daily struggles of Tunisian railway workers. In 2022, Sehiri wrote, directed, and produced her debut feature Under the Fig Trees, an intimate exploration of youth, work, and fleeting moments of connection in a rural fig orchard. The film premiered at the 54th Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and was selected to represent Tunisia at the 2023 Academy Awards. Since then, it has screened at major international festivals and been released in over twenty countries.
Alongside her cinematic work, Sehiri is a passionate advocate for freedom of expression and media literacy. She co-founded the media platform Inkyfada and the Tunisian NGO Al-Khat. She is also a founding member of Rawiat – Sisters in Cinema, a collective dedicated to supporting female filmmakers across the Arab World and its diaspora. This triple win at Angoulême further cements PROMISED SKY’s status as one of the most powerful and resonant films of the year, continuing to captivate audiences and critics alike.
Adding to MAD’s strong presence at the festival, MY FATHER AND QADDAFI by Libyan filmmaker Jihan received the Jury Prize, marking another milestone in the film’s acclaimed journey. Following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival — the first Libyan film in 13 years to do so — the documentary’s recognition in Marrakech underscores its emotional force and political urgency. The award also comes ahead of its MENA premiere at the Doha Film Festival, taking place from November 20th to 28th, where anticipation continues to build.
MY FATHER AND QADDAFI by Libyan director Jihan is due to screen at Qatar’s Doha Film Festival, marking its Arab World premiere. The documentary follows a daughter as she unravels the disappearance of her father, the opposition leader to Qaddafi, and pieces together her mother’s 19-year search to find him. Without any memory of her father, she tries to reconnect with him and reconcile with her Libyan identity. The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival — becoming the first Libyan film in 13 years to do so — and has participated in the Red Sea and Chicago International Film Festivals prior.
A US and Libyan production, MY FATHER AND QADDAFI is produced by Jihan (Desert Power) in association with Quiet. It is co-produced by Andreas Rocksén and William Johansson Kalén of Laika Film & Television AB, with executive producers Dave Guenette, Mohamed Soueid, and Sol Guy, and associate producers Shahla Karkouti Elms and Austin Ray. Featuring Jihan herself, Baha Sobhi Al Omary, and the late Rashid Mansur Kikhia as main characters, the 88-minute documentary is lensed by Micah Walker and Mike McLaughlin, and edited by Alessandro Dordoni, Chloe Lambourne (of the Oscar-nominated FOR SAMA), and Nicole Halova.
Throughout its production, the film received funding from several international sources, including Quiet, the Doha Film Institute, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, International Documentary Association, CineGouna Funding, International Media Support, Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund, Malmö Arab Film Festival, and the Swedish Film Institute. It also participated in several labs, including Close Up Lab, DFI QUMRA, Durban Filmmart, Between Women Filmmakers Caravan Consultancy, Medimed Euro-Med Doc Market & Pitching Forum, and First Cut Lab.
Jihan earned her BA in International and Comparative Politics, concentrating on Human Rights, Philosophy, and International Law, from the American University of Paris. She holds an MA from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, focusing on art education and storytelling. In 2012, her article ‘Libya, My Father, and I’ was published in Kalimat Magazine: Arab Thought and Culture. Jihan is dedicated to exploring how free expression can serve as a vehicle for empowerment and understanding.
With PROMISED SKY and MY FATHER AND QADDAFI both achieving major recognition at Marrakech, MAD continues to amplify bold, resonant, and boundary-pushing cinema from the Arab world and beyond. These victories highlight the filmmakers’ artistic vision and the growing global appetite for stories rooted in identity, justice, community, and memory.
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