Film Screening: Cinémélodie—À peine j'ouvre les yeux (As I Open My Eyes)

Join us for the April installment of our 2025/2026 music-themed film series, Cinémélodie!

In celebration of Arab American Heritage Month, we’re screening Tunisian screenwriter and filmmaker Leyla Bouzid’s 2015 drama À peine j’ouvre les yeux (As I Open My Eyes).

Guests will enjoy a complimentary glass of Louis Jadot Bourgogne and a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Sofitel Magnificent Mile’s très chic Le Bar.

Doors at 6:00 PM for a complimentary glass of wine. Program at 6:30. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Non-alcoholic options will be available.

About the Film

À peine j’ouvre les yeux (As I Open My Eyes)takes place in Tunis, just months for the Tunisian Revolution. Farah is an 18-year-old living life to the fullest: she drinks, parties with her friends, and sings in a rock a band that doesn’t shy away from political messaging. Her mother, Hayet, disapproves of her wild behavior and would prefer to see her pursue a career in medicine. The band’s music thrills the trendy young people around them, but displeases the police.

The film investigates the modern Tunisian identity through focusing on a young woman’s personal relationships during the political instability in the months before the Tunisian Revolution. The film marries the private life of a young Tunisian woman with the story of her nation at the cusp of fundamental change;

The young female body of Farah, with her voice and gaze, plays a pivotal role in how the movie is intensely meandering between the political and the nonpolitical. - Dr. Alena Strohmaier, Research Associate & Head of the Media Center, Philipps University of Marburg

À peine j’ouvre les yeux was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, and received acclaim at the Venice Film Festival, the Carthage Film Festival, the International Festival of Young Filmmakers of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, and the International Film Festival of Dubai.

[Content warning: sexual assault, kidnapping, torture, drug (cannabis) use, police brutality, nudity, profanity]

About the Director

Vinckie, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Leyla Bouzid (born 1984 in Tunis), is a Tunisian screenwriter and film director. Daughter of director Nouri Bouzid, she grew up in Tunisia, spending her adolescence in Tunis. After her baccalaureate, she moved to Paris to study literature at the Sorbonne. After achieving a first short film, Bonjour, she completed her studies at La Fémis.

Getting Here

The Alliance Franaise de Chicago is one block from the CTA Red line stop at Chicago Ave. Best bus routes are the 22 on Clark and the 66 on Chicago Ave. A Divvy station is located in front of the 54 W Chicago Ave entrance.

Parking Information

$12 for 12 hours at InterPark at 100 W Chestnut St. Validation is available at reception.

Please be advised that students, members, and attendees at cultural events or programs may be photographed, and these images may be used for marketing purposes.