The first U.S. trailer has arrived for the directorial debut of Leyla Bouzid, who has done a collection of short films before helming As I Open My Eyes, which is set for domestic release after a festival, which granted Bouzid Label Europe Cinema at the Venice Film Festival.
Co-written by Bouzid along with Marie-Sophie Chambon (in her first feature screenplay), the drama — alternatively titled À piene j’ouvre les yeux — follows Farah, an 18-year-old split between the ideologies of her Tunisian family and the freeing, creative life she leads as a singer in a rock band fueled by political outcrying.
Farah is played by first-timer Baya Medhaffer, who will surely make a name for herself after this portrayal. With a constantly moving frame, Bouzid looks to capture the balancing act of Farah’s life, and the instability of her environment, with intimate, kinetic force. See the trailer along with a poster below.
As I Open My Eyes depicts the clash between culture and family as seen through the eyes of a young Tunisian woman balancing the traditional expectations of her family with her creative life as the singer in a politically charged rock band. Director Leyla Bouzid’s musical feature debut offers a nuanced portrait of the individual implications of the incipient Arab Spring.
As I Open My Eyes hits theaters September 9th.