Private Project

The Smell Of Henna

Tunisia, the year 2000. In a country undergoing transformation and grappling with a deep identity crisis, Lamia, a young woman, prepares for her wedding. Amid the turmoil of traditions and the chaos of the Henna ritual, she finds herself facing much more than a mere celebration…

  • Louay Rezgui
    Director
  • Louay Rezgui
    Producer
  • Lamia Horrigue
    Producer
  • Lamia Horrigue
    Key Cast
  • Saber Gueblaoui
    Associate producers
  • Dorsaf Zouari
    Associate producers
  • Sandra Costeja Bos
    Image
  • Hanin Belamin
    Mixing
  • Play Prod (Tunisia)
    Production Company
  • DAD films (France)
    Production Company
  • Louay Rezgui
    Editing and Sound Design
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    ريحة الحنة
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 9, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Tunisia
  • Country of Filming:
    Tunisia
  • Language:
    Arabic, French
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • International Short Film Festival - "Nuit Trop Courte"
    Grenoble
    France
    January 28, 2026
    Official Selection (Documentary)
Director Biography - Louay Rezgui

Louay Rezgui, born in 2001, is a Tunisian filmmaker, editor, and composer. He holds a research Master’s in Audiovisual Sciences and Techniques from ESAC Gammarth (2025) and a Bachelor’s in Editing from ISAMM. Beginning his career at a young age, his films have been selected in national and international festivals. His work explores the delicate space between reality and perception, reflecting on youth, identity, and isolation in a contemporary Tunisia.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Henna’s Smell was born from an inner urge that has haunted me since childhood: the need to make a film that, in one way or another, touches my own family history. The spark came when my mother, who is also the film’s central character, told me about the existence of a VHS tape of her Henna, the traditional celebration held before the wedding. Beyond its personal resonance, we pointed out the cinematic potential of this fragile medium, its texture and its imperfections. From that moment, a quest began: to craft a film that could be both intimate and restrained, sincere and modest but rebellious.

The challenge throughout the creation of this short documentary was to build tension not only through the story itself, but also through editing and sound design, borrowing implicitly from the codes of the thriller and soft horror. This approach was essential: while my mother appears physically present on screen, she is, in many ways, absent on a psychological level. A silent, inner questioning about marriage haunts both her and the film, and yet remains visible. This presence/absence becomes the key to our narrative.

The film opens with a sequence announcing the death of Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia’s first president, the first president of Tunisia and an important defender of women’s rights, but one who had already become, in a sense, a presence/absence himself. From there, Lamia’s story resonates with a wider collective one: caught between a society that clings to tradition and a youth yearning for modernity but often pulled back by conservatism. Short, striking phrases punctuate the Henna, revealing an entire identity crisis beneath the surface.

Throughout the ritual, Lamia resists. In her words, in her gestures, she subtly rejects the imposed traditions. She is not like the others; she maintains a rebellious discourse that persists until the end. The film, much like its main character, aims to be both modest and rebellious, a reflection on the complex period of the year 2000 and on a Tunisian society that was searching for itself then, and continues to do so to this very day.