Tomorrow is a social drama about the daily life of a human rights lawyer who, ten years after the Tunisian revolution, is still in search of social justice. After a bitter divorce, Habib and his 15-year-old son Ahmed are brought together by Habib’s worsening state of health. Habib’s political past during the dictatorship in Tunisia is dangerously affecting his present. The roles are reversed and Ahmed has to protect his father and try to keep him safe. Habib and Ahmed find themselves in a chaotic position that neither is prepared for.
Tunisian film and television actor Dhafer L’Abidine makes his directorial debut, which he also produces and stars in. The movie is set in modern-day Tunis still reeling from the aftershocks of the Jasmine Revolution. The original title, Ghodwa, can be loosely translated to mean “tomorrow” or “hope.”
The Tunisian Revolution, also called Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. It eventually led to a thorough democratization of the country and to free and democratic elections.
The demonstrations were caused by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, a lack of political freedoms (such as freedom of speech) and poor living conditions. The protests constituted political unrest in Tunisia in three decades and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of them were the result of action by police and security forces.
L’Abidine dedicates the film to the memory of his mother and father. Mentioning at the end credits: “Until today, ten years after the revolution, not a single perpetrator has been charged for the human rights crimes committed against these victims. In a wake of the revolution and the fall of the dictatorship on 14^th January 2011, tens of thousands of victims of the old regime are seeking justice for crimes committed against them; crimes that vary from homicide, torture and rape to embezzlement of public funds. On 25^th July 2021, Tunisian people once again took the streets to reclaim their revolution.”
Tunis-born L’Abidine had a successful career in the West, appearing in international film productions such as Children of Men (2006), Sex and the City 2 (2010), Centurion (2010) and many more. He moved to the UK in 1999 to pursue his acting career where he won a place at the Birmingham school of Speech and Drama.
Last winter, Tomorrow won the International Federation of Critics Award (Fipresci) at the 43^rd annual Cairo International Film Festival.