In her third feature film, The Little Sister, actor and director Hafsia Herzi turns her focus to the journey of Fatima, a high school girl. Raised in a devout Muslim household by Algerian immigrant parents, Fatima finds herself torn between her faith and her sexual identity as she prepares to enter university. Once in college, she engages in a series of brief encounters with women, never fully revealing herself to any of them, until she meets Ji-Na through a dating app. Ji-Na becomes the only person with whom Fatima forms a genuine emotional connection. The Little Sister gradually unpacks Fatima’s self-denial and the cracks in her experience of first love as a young adult. She explores her desires freely outside, but once at home, Fatima conforms herself to the framework of discipline. This tension is powerfully portrayed thanks to Nadia Melliti’s performance as Fatima. Park Ji-Min also delivers a compelling performance as Ji-Na. An intriguing coming-of-age story that captures the unrefined energy between Fatima, Ji-Na, and the family. (CHO Hyunna)