Tunisia

Kaouther Ben Hania was born in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. She is a director and a scriptwriter and is based in Paris. She studied cinema in Tunisia (EDAC) then in Paris (Fémis and the Sorbonne). She directed several short films including Me, My Sister and the Thing (2006) and Wooden Hand (2013). Both films had a successful and long run on the international festival circuit. Her documentary film Imams Go to School premiered at IDFA 2010 and was selected for many prestigious festivals (Vancouver, Dubai, Amiens...). Challat of Tunis (2013) was her first feature film. Her second feature film, Beauty and The Dogs / Eft Hyati was selected into Cannes 2017. In 2018, her third short film, Les Pastèques du Cheikh was selected into the 2018 Carthage Film Festival (Regards sur le Cinéma Tunisien Courts Métrages Fiction). She was also Jury Member for Documentaries at 29th Carthage Film Festival – JCC 2018 in Tunisia. In 2021, her feature film, The Man Who Sold His Skin was the first-ever Tunisian film to be nominated for an Oscar.

Filmography

Me, My Sister and the Thing (2006)
Les imams vont à l'école (2010)
Wooden Hand (2013)
Yed Ellouh (2013)
Le Challat de Tunis (2013)
Zaineb takrahou ethelj (2016)
Beauty and the Dogs (2017)
Sheikh's Watermelons (2018)
The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020)