Foreign Body

We meet Samia, a young Tunisian girl who has just fled her home country across the Mediterranean Sea, barely surviving the journey. We never learn exactly how she got to Lyon, but what we do learn is that Samia isn’t the kind of girl that gives up easily. She spends her first night in France at Imed’s house, a friend of her brothers. But she runs away after only spending one night there. Even though Imed might seem nice, there is something off about his past. Samia meets a widow, Mrs. Berteau who’s looking for someone to take care of her house. Samia is persistent and talks Mrs. Bereau into letting her do the job. This is not a typical “refugee-without-papers” movie, because in Foreign Body, the focus is on the inner turmoil Samia faces and the passion she has for the people around her in a new and different country. One thing is for sure; no one stays the same after meeting Samia – especially not Mrs. Berteau.

Raja Amari (b. 1971) is a Tunisian film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her films Red Satin (2002), Buried Secrets (2009) and Foreign Body (2016). Her movie Red Satin has won multiple awards at different film festivals, for example best African movie during the Montreal World Film Festival.

Read Variety's review of Foreign Body here.