Têtes Brûlées
A young girl wrestles with her Tunisian heritage as she grieves the loss of her beloved adult brother.
Twelve-year-old Eya lives in Brussels with her Tunisian migrant family, whose cultural traditions she finds alienating. Her strongest ally is her 25-year-old brother, Younès, who helps her with her schoolwork, encourages her TikTok dances and allows her to hang out with his big, boisterous friendship group. But when he is suddenly, tragically killed, Eya is left heartbroken. Struggling to make sense of her grief, she finds solace in the friends, relatives and neighbours who fill the family home in the aftermath, and resolves to find some way to honour Younès while learning to live without him.
Winning two special mentions at the 2025 Berlinale, Belgian-Tunisian-Danish filmmaker Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama has drawn from her own family history in developing this striking debut feature. A tender depiction of how ritual and community usher people through stages of grief as well as a poignant narrative of innocence lost, Têtes Brûlées is a coming-of-age tale imbued with dramatic weight and shot through with humanity.
“A film of few words but many gestures … [Eya] withstands the pain of loss by using the weapons in her reach: sincerity and an ability to look for joy where it can be found, to turn beautiful memories into strength, and to unleash her creativity.” – Cineuropa