Taht Alshajra
Every morning in northwest Tunisia, a truck drives around picking up day laborers for the nearby fig orchard. While some are old and experienced, “Under the Fig Trees” follows a group of teenage girls who take on this job during their summer school break.
When we first meet them, as they giddily (if wearily) walk up onto the pickup truck, it’s clear this has all become routine for them. The day that follows, as chronicled in Erige Sehiri’s sun-dappled film, offers a rare glimpse into their seemingly mundane life and their even richer inner lives.