Erige Sehiri explores intra-African migration in ‘Prometido el cielo’

The film ‘Prometido el cielo’, directed by Erige Sehiri, explores the complexities of intra-African migration by centering on three women from sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Ivory Coast, living in Tunisia. The film, which opened the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, avoids the common cinematic trope of migration as an odyssey toward Europe or the United States, instead focusing on Tunisia as a destination and a site of structural racism.

The narrative follows Marie, a pastor of an underground church; Naney, who survives through informal trade to reunite with her daughter; and Jolie, an engineering student who faces systemic prejudice despite having legal status. Their shared struggle for survival is further complicated by the arrival of Kenza, an orphaned girl rescued from a shipwreck. Through a neo-realist lens, Sehiri examines the dynamics of gender, power, and the universal nature of prejudice within the context of displacement.