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The Little Sister poster

Film · 2025

The Little Sister

Original titleLa petite dernière

starring Ji-min Park and Némo Schiffman

Synopsis

''The Little Sister'' is a film directed by Hafsia Herzi and is based on the autobiographical novel by Fatima Daas.

It is a drama that explores the clash between personal identity, religion, and cultural roots. 

The story follows Fatima, a 17-year-old girl, the youngest of three sisters in a Franco-Algerian Muslim family living on the outskirts of Paris. A good student and deeply connected to her family, her life is marked by family expectations, faith, and the norms of the community in which she has grown up.

When she starts university, Fatima discovers a freer and more diverse environment that allows her to question aspects of herself that she had always repressed. There she begins to accept something that is as revealing as it is unsettling: her attraction to other women. This emotional and affectionate awakening confronts her with a deep conflict between her sexual identity and the religious and cultural values that have defined her upbringing.

As she tries to live both realities, the young woman experiences an inner struggle marked by guilt, the desire to be true to her faith, and the fear of disappointing her family. Amidst silences, secrets, and moments of self-discovery, Fatima is forced to reconsider who she really is and what place she wants to occupy in the world. 

''The Little Sister'' constructs an intimate portrait of the process of accepting oneself when love, culture, and religion seem to push in opposite directions, sensitively showing the weight of growing up between identities that do not always find a point of reconciliation.

Where to watch The Little Sister

All the options

The Little Sister is not on any service in the UK right now. It can be watched in other countries:

  • Canada Apple TV: rent 5.99 CAD, buy 14.99 CADCrave: subscriptionPrime Video: channel, rent 5.99 CAD, buy 14.99 CAD
  • Italy Apple TV: channelMubi: subscriptionPrime Video: channel
  • Austria Apple TV: rent €3.99, buy €7.99Prime Video: rent €3.99, buy €7.99
  • Belgium Apple TV: rent €3.99, buy €7.99Prime Video: rent €4.99, buy €9.99
  • France Apple TV: rent €4.99, buy €9.99Prime Video: channel, rent €2.99, buy €7.99
  • New Zealand Apple TV: rent 7.99 NZD, buy 17.99 NZDPrime Video: rent 5.99 NZD, buy 15.99 NZD

The essentials

Runtime
108 min1 hour and 48 minutes
How long is The Little Sister?
1 hour and 48 minutes (108 minutes).
Who is in The Little Sister?
It stars Ji-min Park and Némo Schiffman.
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Videos and trailers

See the video

Photos and posters

All 10 photos

Reviews

All 3 reviews

What the critics say average 8.0 from 2 outlets

  • 8.0 Time OutDave Calhoun It’s not the sort of film about liberation that has you punching the air or swelling regularly with deep feelings, but it’s so often beautifully observed and told with great care and compassion. Read
  • 8.0 The TimesKevin Maher This is a generous character piece defined by credible and complex dramatis personae, a visceral sense of place and a tender regard for everyone involved in Fatima’s consistently tricky predicament. Read
  • The New YorkerJustin Chang French filmmaker Hafsia Herzi has a sensitive touch with actors. In her warm and absorbing drama “The Little Sister,” she coaxes quietly powerful work from Nadia Melliti as Fatima. Read
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