Breakout Tunisian Hit ‘Take My Breath,’ a Drama About Intersex Identity, Acquired for World Sales by MAD Solutions (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor MAD Solutions — the Middle East and North Africa region’s leading sales agent and distributor of Arabic-language films — has acquired the world sales rights for Tunisian director Nada Mezni Hafaiedh’s debut feature “Take My Breath,” which world premiered in the International Competition of the Warsaw Film Festival this fall.

Hafaiedh’s film, which has found great success in Tunisian cinemas over the past month, follows the life of a young seamstress named Shams, whose tranquil life unravels when their intersex identity is exposed.

Engaged in a steamy love triangle and targeted by an obsessive attacker, Shams escapes to the capital city. Taking refuge with their lover’s mystic cousin, Shams grapples with their complex sense of self.

The evocative tale explores the clash between desire and identity. In creating “Take My Breath,” Hafaiedh says she aimed to “highlight overlooked struggles and spark discussion about avoided subjects” in her native Tunisia, in order to “invite reflection and understanding, and ultimately to challenge prejudices surrounding gender identity and intersexuality.” The protagonist of the film is played by burgeoning Tunisian actress Amina Ben Smail, who plays ‘Flo’ in Pierro Mesina’s upcoming sci-fi film “Another End,” starring Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve (“The Worst Person in the World”). “Take My Breath” also stars breakout performances from Sana Ben Cheikh Larbi and Mohamed Mrad, and a stellar turn from beloved veteran Tunisian actress Fatima Ben Saidane.