As I Open My Eyes

18-year-old Tunisian Farah (Baya Medhaffar) follows a passion for music instead of her family's desire to become a doctor. Joining a rock band, she sings political songs with fervour, gets drunk, and falls in love - risky business with a literal revolution just around the corner in the form of the Arab Spring.

"Tradition butts up against progress in Leyla Bouzid’s debut feature As I Open My Eyes, a musically-charged French-Tunisian film that follows a young woman in a band as she navigates familial, cultural, and social ideals in contemporary Tunis. Her band—assembled of several friends and one more-than-a-friend—plays a blend of original music and covers at local bars, including men’s-only joints. For Farah (Baya Medhaffar), the young woman at the heart of the film, music transcends cultures and languages, and the lengthy musical interludes demonstrate a kind of escapism. But music too is wrapped up in the politics. As I Open My Eyes situates itself at the dawn of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, and Farah’s music addresses politics and issues in her home country." (Tribeca Film Festival)

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