Tunisia has selected Nada Mezni Hfaiedh’s drama Take My Breath exploring intersex identity to represent it in the Best International Feature Film category of the 97th Academy Awards.
The drama, which released in Tunisia late last year, stars actress Amina Ben Ismail as 23-year-old seamstress Shams, whose life is overturned when their intersex identity is exposed.
Shams escapes to the city, where they live in the shadows, shunned by true love and rejected by society’s rigid norms and expectations.
Last year’s Tunisian entry, documentary Four Daughters by Kaouther Ben Hania, made it onto the shortlist in the International Feature category and went on to be nominated in the Best Documentary category.
The country’s National Cinema Centre announced the selection with just over 24 hours to go until the deadline for submission to the category at 5pm PT October 2.
So far, around 76 country entries have been publicly declared, against 88 submissions for the 96th Academy Awards.
Take My Breath released in Tunisia late last year having originally world premiered at the Warsaw International Film Festival.
Ismail, who grew up between Tunisia and France, has since been seen in Piero Messina’s sci-fi drama Another End, in support of co-stars Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve, with previous credits including series The Power.
Director Hfaiedh’s previous credits include TV mini-series Tunisian Stories and 2017 feature Under The Shadow. The feature is produced by Tunisia’s Leyth Production and Hamzeh Mysthique Films.
