19-25 January
2026
When Fatima leaves her tight-knit suburban family to study philosophy in Paris, she is caught in a squeeze between her religious upbringing and the free student life in the big city.
Fatima is 17 years old and the younger sister in a warm French-Algerian family. We follow her as she moves away from home and starts university in Paris. She dates, makes friends, and takes her first cautious steps into adulthood. But when Fatima discovers an attraction to women, her sense of loyalty to her beloved Muslim family is challenged. Fatima is confronted with what feels like an impossible dilemma: How can one remain true to oneself when the different parts of one's identity do not seem to fit together?
The Little Sister is an understated yet powerful coming-of-age drama. Herzi paints her characters with empathy, resisting the temptation to heighten the conflict level just to create drama. Fatima's story is more about accepting herself than being accepted by others. This makes The Little Sister a story about growing up, rather than a story about coming out.
Hafsia Herzi (b. 1987) is a French director with Algerian/Tunisian roots. She had her breakthrough in the film industry as an actress and has won several awards for her work in front of the camera. The Little Sister is her third feature film as a director. It premiered at Cannes, where it won the Queer Palm award and the Best Actress award.
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| Programme: | Competition |
| Original title: | La petite dernière |
| Director: | Hafsia Herzi |
| Country: | France, Germany |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Run time: | 1h 46m |
| Screenplay: | Hafsia Herzi, Fatima Daas |
| Cast: | Park Ji-min, Mouna Soualem, Aloïse Sauvage |
| Subtitles: | English |
| Producer: | Julie Billy, Naomi Denamur |
| Source: | Another World Entertainment AS |
| Age limit: | 15 |