During a student party, Mariam, a young Tunisian woman, meets the mysterious Youssef and leaves with him. A long night will begin, during which she’ll have to fight for her rights and her dignity. But how can justice be made when it lies on the side of the tormentors? BEAUTY AND THE DOGS is not an easy watch, by any stretch, but it is an essential one, flawless and harrowing and so, so important.

“Clearly, this film couldn’t have been made in Tunisia before 2011. Though it doesn’t paint a flattering portrait of the guardians of law and order in Tunisia, the Ministry of Culture supports the film. For me, this is a powerful symbol of support at a time when general pessimism reigns over Tunisia. It’s a sign that things in the country are changing. Like the film’s main character, nothing can ever again be like before. Most importantly, the film is saying to all those people still functioning as they did under the Ben Ali regime, that the social order can no longer be the same.” (Kaouther Ben Hania)

Kaouther Ben Hania, born in Sidi Bouzid/Tunisia, works as a director and screenwriter. Following film studies at the École des Arts et du Cinéma in Tunis, she studied scriptwriting at La Fémis in Paris. She has a Research Masters in Film and Audiovisual Studies from the Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3. Currently, she is filming her third documentary entitled OLFA AND HER DAUGHTERS and is developing her next feature-length film: THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN.

Filmography: 2006 MOI, MA SOEUR ET LA CHOSE (short film), 2010 IMAMS GO TO SCHOOL (documentary), 2013 PEAU DE COLLE (short film), 2014 CHALLAT OF TUNIS, 2016 ZAINEB HATES THE SNOW (documentary), 2017 BEAUTY AND THE DOGS