Promised Sky (French: Promis le ciel) is a 2025 drama film directed by Erige Sehiri, from a screenplay she co-wrote with Anna Ciennik and Malika Cécile Louati. It is a French-Tunisian-Qatari international co-production. It stars Aïssa Maïga, Laetitia Ky and Debora Lobe Naney.
The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 14 May. It will be theatrically released in France on 28 January 2026 by Jout2fête.
Premise
Set in Tunisia, Marie, an Ivorian pastor, offers refuge to Naney, a young mother, and Jolie, a student. One day, they take in a young orphan which challenges the dynamics between them.[1]
In an interview with Cineuropa, Segiri revealed that the idea of the film was conceived when she was working on a documentary film about sub-Saharan students in Tunisia.[8]
In September 2024, it was reported that MAD Distribution acquired the film rights in Arab world.[10] In the same month, Luxbox acquired the film's international sales.[11]
Reception
Critical response
Tomris Laffly of Variety called the film "at times untidy" but further described it as "powerful" and "deeply human".[12] Writing for RogerEbert.com, Ben Kenigsberg praised the leading performances of Maïga, Ky, Naney, and Kenza. He described them as "vivid and real".[13]
