#655 - Nadia Melliti on The Little Sister

This week we’re excited to present a conversation with The Little Sister lead actress Nadia Melliti, moderated by FLC programmer Madeline Whittle. A 2026 Rendez-vous with French Cinema selection, The Little Sister is currently playing at Film at Lincoln Center, courtesy of Strand Releasing. Get tickets at filmlinc.org/sister Devout Muslim teenager Fatima (Nadia Melliti) lives with her loving Algerian immigrant family in Paris, but fears the inevitable fallout if her tradition-minded kin discover her identity as a lesbian. Initially wary of her own sexuality and eager to downplay it, Fatima blossoms when she meets Ji-na (Return to Seoul star Park Ji-Min), but challenges await the nascent couple. In her fourth directorial effort, Hafsia Herzi (also acclaimed for her captivating performances in The Rapture and The Secret of the Grain) rejects the clichés of queer coming-of-age stories, which so often center around tragedy and trauma. Instead, Herzi centers one young girl’s relatively drama-free journey of self-discovery and coming out, one telling incident at a time. A true discovery in her first on-screen role, Melliti won Best Actress awards at Cannes and Lumières, as well as the César Award for Best Female Newcomer, while the film took home the prestigious Louis-Delluc Prize in 2025. A Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2026 selection. A Strand Releasing release.