Two daughters ran away to join Islamic State. Years later, their family’s story is an Oscar nominee
A documentary about a Tunisian family and the radicalization of two teenage daughters who joined the Islamic State group is up for one of the most prestigious film awards in the world
Olfa Hamrouni doesn’t know much about her granddaughter; not her favorite toy nor food — is it the pasta the child’s mother loves, or something else?
The Tunisian grandmother doesn’t even let her mind go there. “I don’t want to know. What for but more heartache?” she said.
For now, she just fights for 8-year-old Fatma. The child has spent virtually all her life with her mother and aunt — Hamrouni’s eldest daughters — raised in detention in Libya, where the women wound up after leaving home as teenagers and joining Islamic State group extremists.
The real-life story of Hamrouni and her children is the focus of “Four Daughters,” an Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature film. On camera, there are many layers to Kaouther Ben Hania’s film: It’s about the radicalization of two teenage girls; an intimate portrait of a chaotic, and often dysfunctional, family life; and reflections on generational trauma, patriarchy, motherhood and adolescence.
