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Alyssa (Eya Bellagha), a high schooler in Tunis, has as many familial responsibilities as she has dreams to escape to Europe. Her older neighbor Mehdi (Slim Baccar) is a talented painter looking for any job since art doesn’t pay the bills. The poignant friendship that develops between these two characters is at the center of writer-director Amel Guellaty’s first feature film, which debuted in the world dramatic competition section at Sundance. “Where the Wind Comes From” is a visually striking film that packs in many themes within the simple framework of the road trip movie.

Unbeknownst to Mehdi, Alyssa enrolls him in an art contest in the neighboring town of Djerba. The prize is a trip to Germany. While leaving is more her dream than his, Mehdi goes along with her demanding enthusiasm. Together they have to find transportation and funds to travel. During the trip, they come...

A sense of uncertainty and a lack of clear purpose define the meandering paths of youth. The dicey periods of youthful vigour are a blur of restless energy, a constant push forward into an unknown future. A fundamental question—Where are we headed, and what will we do when we arrive?—marks this period. It’s a precarious time of maneuvering the tension between our desires and our readiness to fulfil them. Tunisian director Amel Guellaty‘s debut feature film Where the Wind Comes From grapples with these very themes, capturing the essence of this youthful journey—the delicate dance between aspiration and ability. As two young adults circumvent the complexities of self-discovery, the film focuses on them, caught between the pull of tradition and the yearning for something more, adrift in the currents of their youthful zeal in the outskirts of Tunisia.

At the heart of Where the Wind Comes From...

Amel Guellaty’s “Where The Wind Comes From” (2025) circles two young people bursting with dreams that transcend their circumstances. Alyssa and Mehdi (Slim Baccar) are close friends, struggling to stay content in a pocket of Tunisia where aspirations aren’t allowed to be spectacular. There are limits staring in one’s face. The two have their gaze fixed on a visa that can sail them out of Tunisia and drop them on the shores of brighter possibilities.

Alyssa is free-spirited and determined to grab any shot at breaking out. She also has to look after her young sister with their mother having emotionally disappeared from their lives. Mehdi, a budding artist, is warier, reserved, and uncertain in embracing unpredictability while she leaps into it. An art contest down south posits a chance to redesign their lives. She never holds herself back if she spots something that can bring her joy,...

The snow-covered Park City feels a world away from Tunis, where Amel Guellaty shot her feature debut “Where the Wind Comes From,” which has its world premieres at Sundance, with Rotterdam hosting the European premiere. This real-life journey somewhat echoes that of the film’s main characters, Alyssa (Eya Bellagha) and Mehdi (Slim Baccar), who embark on an eventful road trip to make it to an artist contest that promises to be the key to leaving their home country for a life in Europe.

Speaking exclusively with Variety, the photographer-turned-filmmaker says Sundance was always her “dream” festival. “When I see the Sundance laurels on a film poster I know I am going to like the movie, so I couldn’t believe it when I got in.” The premiere has an added layer of excitement for Guellaty: this is the first time her leading actors will be seeing snow. “They are...

A competition in southern Tunisia becomes a road trip destination for young friends Alyssa(Eya Bellagha) and Mehdi (Slim Baccar) in Where the Wind Comes From, the feature debut from writer-director Amel Guellaty. First-time feature producer Asma Chiboub talks about her experience on Where the Wind Comes From, and the current state of the industry, below. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Chiboub: I met Amel Guellaty in 2014 around her first short film, Black Mamba, which I produced and which premiered in […]

The post “It Came Down to Me Not Wanting to Miss Out on the Trip”: Producer Asma Chiboub on Where the Wind Comes From first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

A competition in southern Tunisia becomes a road trip destination for young friends Alyssa(Eya Bellagha) and Mehdi (Slim Baccar) in Where the Wind Comes From, the feature debut from writer-director Amel Guellaty. First-time feature producer Asma Chiboub talks about her experience on Where the Wind Comes From, and the current state of the industry, below. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Chiboub: I met Amel Guellaty in 2014 around her first short film, Black Mamba, which I produced and which premiered in […]

The post “It Came Down to Me Not Wanting to Miss Out on the Trip”: Producer Asma Chiboub on Where the Wind Comes From first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

19-year-old Alyssa (Eya Bellagha) and her 23-year-old friend Medhi (Slim Baccar) travel to southern Tunisia for a contest that promises to change their lives in Where the Wind Comes From, writer-director Amel Guellaty’s feature debut. Cinematographer Frida Marzouk discusses lensing Guellaty’s film, including the difficulties of shooting car scenes, her penchant for verite filmmaking and her previous career as a set electrician. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? […]

The post “Shooting in Tunisia Means Adapting to What’s Available: Dp Frida Marzouk on Where the Wind Comes From first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

19-year-old Alyssa (Eya Bellagha) and her 23-year-old friend Medhi (Slim Baccar) travel to southern Tunisia for a contest that promises to change their lives in Where the Wind Comes From, writer-director Amel Guellaty’s feature debut. Cinematographer Frida Marzouk discusses lensing Guellaty’s film, including the difficulties of shooting car scenes, her penchant for verite filmmaking and her previous career as a set electrician. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? […]

The post “Shooting in Tunisia Means Adapting to What’s Available: Dp Frida Marzouk on Where the Wind Comes From first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Exclusive: Mad Distribution, the theatrical arm of Cairo-based studio Mad Solutions, has acquired Mena rights to Tunisian director Amel Guellaty’s coming-of-age road movie Where The Wind Comes From ahead of its world premiere in Sundance.

The movie – described by Mad Distribution as “a refreshing comedic ode to Tunisia’s youth” – revolves around fearless Alyssa and sensitive artist Mehdi, who have been best friends since childhood and feel cramped in their life on the outskirts of the capital of Tunis.

When Alyssa discovers an artist contest in Djerba that might be their ticket out, she pulls Mehdi into a fantastical journey across Tunisia which will put their friendship to the test.

The film, which was previously called Tunis-Djerba, will world premiere alongside nine other titles in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition, which has previously spotlighted films such as Girls Will Be Girls, Scrapper, The Souvenir, Yardie and The Nile Hilton Incident.

Films Boutique has picked up international rights to Amel Guellaty’s “Where the Wind Comes From” (formerly known as “Tunis-Djerba”), ahead of its world premiere in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition.

The International Film Festival Rotterdam will host the European premiere of the coproduction between Tunisia, France and Qatar, which is Guellaty’s first feature.

In the film, fearless spirit Alyssa and sensitive artist Mehdi, best friends since childhood, feel cramped in their life on the outskirts of Tunis. When Alyssa discovers an artist contest in Djerba that might be their ticket out, she pulls Mehdi into a fantastical journey across Tunisia that will put their friendship to the test.

Gabor Greiner, COO and head of acquisitions at Films Boutique, said: “We immediately connected to Amel’s heartwarming, quirky and entertaining film about two best friends from a Tunisian generation full of hope for a better future. This heartfelt and...