HONEY CIGAR

Kamir Aïnouz

algeria france belgium 2020 100 min

Paris, 1993. Seventeen-year-old Selma grows up in a bourgeois, secular Berber family. When she meets Julien, a young man who is both charming and provocative, she begins to understand how deeply the patriarchal rules of her family control her life and her intimacy. As radical Islamism intensifies in Algeria, her family’s country of origin, tensions within the family grow and its apparent stability begins to collapse. As Selma discovers her own desire and asserts her independence, she embarks on a difficult journey toward becoming a free young woman and choosing her own path.

• About the film

  Original title Cigare au miel

  Directed by Kamir Aïnouz

  Screenplay Kamir Aïnouz Marc Syrigas

  Cast Zoé Adjani Amira Casar Lyes Salem Louis Peres Idir Chender Axel Granberger Jud Bengana Rym Takoucht Samir El Hakim

  Music Julie Roué

  Cinematography Jeanne Lapoirie

  Editing Albertine Lastera

  Production Companies Eliph Productions Willow Films Les Films du Fleuve

• Festivals & Awards

  Giornate degli Autori — Venice Film Festival
  2020 | Official Selection
  Opening Film

  Thessaloniki International Film Festival
  2020 | Official Selection — Out of Competition

  France Odéon — Festival de cinéma français de Florence
  2020 | Official Selection
  Prix Regards Méditerranéens

  Seville European Film Festival
  2020 | Las Nuevas Olas
  Spanish Premiere

  Festival international du film de Sydney
  2021 | Features

  Amman International Film Festival — Awal Film
  2021 | Arab Feature-Length Narrative Competition
  Black Iris Award — Best Arab Feature-Length Narrative

  Festival du film de Miami
  2021 | Jordan Ressler First Feature Award Competition
  North American Premiere

  Tübingen–Stuttgart International French-language Film Festival
  2021 | Horizons

  CINEMANIA — Montréal
  2021 | Official Selection

  Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo
  2021 | Perspectiva International

  Helsinki International Film Festival — Love & Anarchy
  2021 | African Express

  Jeonju International Film Festival
  2021 | World Cinema

  Moscow International Film Festival
  2021 | Young and Beautiful

  MyFrenchFilmFestival
  2022 | A Cinema of Desire

  Amman International Film Festival — 2021
  Black Iris Award — Best Arab Feature-Length Narrative

  France Odéon — Florence — 2020
  Prix Regards Méditerranéens