Exclusive: Mad Distribution, the theatrical arm of Cairo-based studio Mad Solutions, has acquired all Arab world rights (outside of Tunisia) for Erige Sehiri’s upcoming female-led African drama feature Marie and Jolie.

The film follows Marie, Naney, and Jolie as they live under the same roof in Tunis in an old house, which also conceals an evangelical church.

After taking in Kenza, a little girl who survived a shipwreck, the three women each begin to question their place in this blended family and in a country in crisis.

The film was among 27 fiction film projects being presented at the Venice Gap Financing Market, aimed at projects that have at least 70% of their finance in place.

“This project began with my encounter with a former Ivorian journalist who emigrated to Tunisia and ended up building her own church,” explains Sehiri. “As a former journalist myself, I was really fascinated by her...