Flanked by two of her four daughters, Olfa Hamrouni addresses the camera and reports that the two daughters missing from this portrait have been devoured by the wolf.

This startling statement starts the astonishing documentary feature, FOUR DAUGHTERS, from two time Oscar nominee, Kaouther Ben Hania.

Olfa is present with her two youngest daughters, Eya and Tayssir, with actors brought in to represent the missing elder daughters, Ghofrane and Rahm. An actor is also deployed to fill in for Olfa during certain scenes and actors are used for the father figures in the girls’ lives – their abusive biological father and the abusing lover Olfa took after her divorce.

Through reenactments, reversals, reminiscence and rehearsals, FOUR DAUGHTERS stitches together the complex story of Olfa and her offspring in a compelling portrait of five women using unique, ambitious and innovative techniques that pushes against the conventional boundaries of the documentary form to explore the nature of memory, rebellion, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

FOUR DAUGHTERS is the title but it is one mother who is the most fascinating, Olfa, a can of contradictions, rebellious and independent in some respects, cringingly and crushingly conservative in other aspects.

Her maternal instincts are mashed with a punishing parental style and her choice of men create a difficult divide between herself and her daughters.

The testimonies of the women are tragic, traumatic, jaw dropping and eye opening, the effect on them palpable, an effect transferred to the actors as we witness the process of research, rehearsal and shooting the scenes.

The Cannes Film Festival gave FOUR DAUGHTERS the gong for Best Documentary Feature, it just picked up the Best Documentary Independent Spirit Award and The French National Film awards, The César Award, for Best Documentary. Next month FOUR DAUGHTERS is vying for Oscar glory in that exact same category. It will be hard to beat.