Tradition butts up against progress in Leyla Bouzid’s debut feature “As I Open My Eyes,” a musically charged French-Tunisian film that follows a young woman in a band as she navigates familial, cultural, and social ideals in the build up to the Jasmine Revolution in Tunis.
For Farah (Baya Medhaffar), the heart of the film, music transcends cultures and languages, and the lengthy musical interludes demonstrate a kind of escapism from the politics unfolding around her. A powerful coming of age tale set on the eve of the Arab Spring, As I Open My Eyes brings the audience into an intoxicating world, all the more relevant in our unsettled times.
Opens Friday, September 9th in New York (Lincoln Plaza cinemas) & September 30th in Los Angeles (Laemmle Royal Theatre), with a national release to follow
