Short film FIRST THE BLUSH THEN THE HABIT to world premiere at 41st Warsaw International Film Festival

release date September 28 2025

Acclaimed for her performance in BEAUTY AND THE DOGS, which premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was directed by Oscar-nominated Kaouther Ben Hania, Mariam Al Ferjani’s captivating Tunisian-Italian drama short FIRST THE BLUSH THEN THE HABIT is due to hold its world premiere as part of the International Competition of the 41st Warsaw International Film Festival, running from October 10th to the 19th.

Layla has a fierce journey before landing in the same city where Ettore lives. Ettore, decades earlier, had an unforgettable passage to escape war. Since then, Layla and Ettore’s undead bodies cruise the city every night in search of food. In a tale of blood and transgression, Layla and Ettore refuse to be the victims of a past they couldn't control.

“ Crossing through time and imaginations, life compels all human beings to transform into something other than themselves,” said Al Ferjani, in regard to her film. “This condition is inherently subjective and often unconscious. Yet, we free ourselves from alienation when, through the gaze of another, we reconcile with what has happened to us and with what we have become. The film is rich in symbolic value yet approached in a way that is realistic: the emotions are raw, primitive and unrefined, like reality. Then I rephrase them into visual metaphors, and figurative images in the protagonists’ poems.”

Starring the director herself Mariam Al Ferjani, alongside Bartolo Casiraghi and Bruno Casiraghi, the short is shot by Simone Mazzoleni, edited by Marco Longo, with sound design by Lucia Grazzola, and a licensed score by the late Umberto Bindi.

With MAD World handling worldwide sales and MAD Distribution in charge of distribution across the Arab World, FIRST THE BLUSH THEN THE HABIT is produced by Marco Longo in tandem with the company Berenice.

Mariam Al Ferjani is a Tunisian actress, scriptwriter, director, and artist. She studied film direction at the Luchino Visconti Cinema School in Milan while also attending acting classes at the Paolo Grassi Theater School. Al Ferjani made her debut as a photographer/performer in Paris. Acclaimed for her performance in the Cannes-premiering BEAUTY AND THE DOGS, which was directed by acclaimed Oscar nominee Kaouther Ben Hania.

Al Ferjani has since garnered six international awards, including the 2018 Arab Critics' Award for Best Performance. She expanded her repertoire with directorial and scriptwriting roles in the short film OMERTÀ, which was screened at the Directors' Fortnight in 2018. Her on-screen presence continued with roles in REBORN, AMAL, and OMAYMA, CAIRO-BERLIN, HARGA, and SAMRA’S DOLLHOUSE.