A worker at one of Tunisia’s largest steel mills, Mohamed survives a devastating explosion in which his friend is killed. As a metal fragment gradually settles in his skull, he finds himself demoted to the position of night watchman. As his physical condition deteriorates, Mohamed begins a relentless quest for truth and justice, lifting the veil on a much broader conspiracy.
Driven by stark direction and a meticulously crafted atmosphere, Exile portrays working-class alienation in an extremely immersive way. Having gained recognition with Streams (Amel et les fauves), Mehdi Hmili sharpens his focus on the contemporary social realities at work in Tunisia.
« Exile est servi par une mise en scène qui sait, le moment venu, offrir des visions brèves mais puissantes. »
Gregory Coutaut Le Polyester 13/08/2025
Mehdi Hmili
Born in Tunis in 1984, Mehdi Hmili studied cinema in Paris and gained recognition with a trilogy of black-and-white short films exploring love and exile (X-Moment, Li-La, The Night of Badr). In 2016, he directed his first fiction feature film, Thala My Love. In 2019, he participated in La Fabrique Cinéma at the Cannes Film Festival, with his documentary Fouledh. His second feature film, Streams, won the Horizons of Arab Cinema Award at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2021.
