19-25 January
2026
For her second feature film, Hafsia Herzi has created an incandescent portrait of a courageous mother living in the projects of Marseille. Raw, funny and warm, this gem of a movie reflects some of the dreams and challenges of contemporary French society.
Nora lives with her daughter, grand-children and one of her sons in the north district of Marseille. She wakes up at dawn every morning to take the bus to the airport where she works as a cleaner, and then onto her other job as an older lady's helper. At home, she takes loving care of her children and grandchildren, but worries that the younger generation wants to make easy money. She also regularly visits her oldest son in prison, and tries to obtain his liberation.
This luminous film is a love letter to all the brave mothers who fight daily for their children's future, as well as a love letter to the projects of Marseille. Filmed with many non-actors from the city, Bonne Mère (French for "Good Mother") is real, passionate and warm-hearted, like the family it depicts. And in the role of Nora, Halima Benhamed is astonishing - it is hard to believe she never acted before, as she steals the spotlight scene after scene.
Hafsia Herzi (b. 1987) is a French actress and director. She made her debut as an actress in The Secret of the Grain (2007) by Abdellatif Kechiche. In 2010, she directed her first short film, Le Rodba. She then directed You Deserve a Lover (2016), her first feature film, which was selected in the Critics' Week at Cannes.
2019 Tu mérites un amour / You Deserve a Lover
2010 Le Rodba (Short)
Kl 11:30
Kulturhuset
Kl 19:30
Kulturhuset
Kl 22:30
Fokus 2
Programme: | Competition |
Original title: | Bonne Mère |
Director: | Hafsia Herzi |
Country: | France |
Year: | 2021 |
Run time: | 1h 39m |
Screenplay: | Hafsia Herzi |
Photo: | Jérémie Attard |
Cast: | Halima Benhamed, Sabrina Benhamed, Mourad Tahar Boussatha, Malik Bouchenaf, Justine Grégory |
Producer: | Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt |