THE LITTLE SISTER

Feature

Hafsia Herzi |

France, Germany |

2025 |

107Min |

French

Synopsis

Fatima, 17, the youngest of three daughters, treads carefully as she searches for her own path, grappling with emerging desires, her attraction to women, and her loyalty to her caring French-Algerian family. Starting university in Paris, she dates, makes friends, and explores a whole new world, all while confronting a timeless and heartrending dilemma: How can one stay true to oneself when reconciling different parts of one’s identity feels impossible?

Director

Hafsia Herzi

Producer

Julie Billy, Naomi Denamur, Vanessa Ciszewski

Cinematographer

Jérémie Attard

Screenplay

Hafsia Herzi

Principal Cast

Nadia MELLITI, Ji-Min PARK, Amina BEN MOHAMED, Melissa GUERS, Rita BENMANNANA, Razzak RIDHA, Louis MEMMI, Anouar KARDELLAS, Joven ETIENNE, Waniss CHAOUKI, Madi DEMBELE, Mahamadou SACKO, Ahmed KHELOUFI, Pascal CHANEZ, Sophie GARAGNON, Julia MULLER, Nemo SCHIFFMAN, Victorien BONNET, Vincent PASDERMADJIAN, Gabriel DONZELLI, Mouna SOUALEM, Jade FEHLMANNGioia FARISANO, Julie CHAINTRON, Ahmet INSEL, Abdelali MAMOUN, Claude-Emmanuelle GAJAN MAULL

Screenings

29 Jul 19:30 Suncoast 7

31 Jul 17:00 Suncoast 5

Hafsia Herzi

Hafsia Herzi began her career as an actress in The Secret of the Grain (La Graine et le Mulet) by Abdellatif Kechiche, for which she won a César Award and the Best Emerging Actress Prize at the Venice Film Festival. As an actress, she has worked with filmmakers such as André Téchiné, Bertrand Bonello, Patricia Mazuy, Iris Kaltenbäck, Sylvie Verheyde, Teddy Lussi-Modeste, and Radu Mihaileanu. Her first two films as a director were selected at the Cannes Film Festival. You Deserve a Lover (Tu mérites un amour), selected for Critics’ Week, received critical acclaim in 2019, and Good Mother (Bonne Mère) won the Ensemble Prize in the Un Certain Regard section in 2021, awarded by Andrea Arnold. Hafsia also directed a TV movie for ARTE, The Playground (LaCour), which received two awards at the La Rochelle Festival.In 2024, she played the lead role in Borgo, directed by Stéphane Demoustier, for which she won the César Award for Best Actress in February 2025. The Youngest (La Petite Dernière) is her third feature film as a director.

Feature