As part of the Edward W. Said Days, the film À peine j’ouvre les yeux by Tunisian director Leyla Bouzid will be screened in the Mozart Auditorium of the Barenboim-Said Akademie.

Fun-loving young Farah has just finished high school and sings in a rock band. She dreams of becoming a professional musician but her parents want her to go to medical school. Rehearsal rooms are scarce, performances rare, and the band’s critical song texts attract the attention of the Tunisian secret service. But Farah is in love and feels invulnerable—she sings in bars and enjoys the Tunis nightlife while her mother, Hayet, would rather have her stay at home. It is the summer of 2010, tensions in the country are noticeable, and Farah is unexpectedly confronted with the consequences of her music.

Director: Leyla Bouzid, France/Tunisia/Belgium 2015, 102 min. In Arabic and French with English subtitles