Sonia Ben Slama

Mahdia, Tunisia. Fatma and her daughters, Najeh and Waffeh, work as “machtat”, traditional musicians who play at wedding ceremonies. Their music evokes love and its promises, but the reality is much more complex and painful. Between illusions and disillusionment, Machtat is a powerful and liberating portrait of three women asserting their voices.

70 years ago, in Ksour Essaf, central Tunisia, a young woman escaped from her husband's house and, for the one and only time in her life, raised up against Maktoub. Nowadays, in the very same place, Sabrine is about to get married.