In this edition of Screen’s Cannes Close-Up interview series, director Hafsia Herzi talks about her first Cannes Competition experience as a filmmaker with The Little Sister, an adaptation of Fatima Daas autobiographical novel The Last One.

It’s the story of a young lesbian Muslim woman who lives in the Parisian suburbs. Herzi loved the book and decided to make the film because she had “never seen a character like that on the big screen” - she is played by newcomer Nadia Melliti.

In the interview she talks about the “surprises” Cannes always brings, like having lunch with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, and how she wore “a princess dress” the first time she stepped on the red carpet.

Herzi is one of the new generation of filmmakers to have made it to the official selection this year after having grown as director on the Croisette: her debut feature You Deserve A Lover premiered at Critics’ Week in 2019 and in 2021 she was back with Good Mother in Un Certain Regard.

She first made her mark as an actress in Abdellatif Kechiche’s Couscous, which saw her win the most promising actress César award in 2008.

The Little Sister, sold by mk2 Films, is produced by June Films’ Julie Billy and Naomi Denamur in co-production with Arte France Cinéma and Vanessa Ciszewski of Germany’s Katuh Studio; it is sold by mk2 Films.

Cannes Close-Up sees leading talents and figures from the international film industry give insight into their careers and navigating the Cannes Film Festival.

This edition of Cannes Close-Up is in partnership with Unifrance.

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