Following her documentary Railway Men (2018), about a couple of train conductors working for an exploitative Tunisian railway company, and her resplendent docudrama Under the Fig Trees (2022), which centered on a group of young men and women working under the titular trees picking fruit and discussing their lives as they eke out a living after the Tunisian revolution, Erige Sehiri’s Promised Sky, uses a social-realist lens to explore contemporary North African society.
Premiered as part of the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Sehiri’s film follows three women—Marie (Aïssa Maïga), an Ivorian pastor; Naney (Deborah Lobe Nane), a mother working to send money back to her child; and Jolie (Laetitia Ky), a student—all living together in Tunis. After they discover Kenza (Estelle Dogbo), a young shipwreck survivor, the foundation of their makeshift family begins to crumble under the weight of rising anti-Black, anti-immigrant sentiment in their adopted country.
Moved by the film’s tender take on tough subject matter, Selam writes that “it’s such a beautiful film. Black women migrating in the continent of Africa, colourism, past and current traumas. It’s a lot but so so so needed.” KarnyKat agrees, calling it a wonderful film that is “both brutal and tender… with magnificent acting.” Also deeply affected, Abi declares, “I feel like we need more movies like this. It’s such a heartwarming but gut-wrenching movie.” Chiara finds the power of the film comes from Sehiri’s empathetic knowledge of her subjects: “These characters were so incredibly well-written I forgot they were characters at all.” MEG