Tunisian auteur Nejib Belkadhi, best known internationally for Bastardo and 2021’s festival hit Communion, has signed on to star in The Sleeping Grotto, a Canada‑Tunisia psychological thriller from writer‑director Kays Mejri. The feature follows estranged brothers Youssef and Idris, whose return to their remote childhood hide‑out awakens buried trauma and, according to an industry brief, “reshapes their sense of reality” as the surrounding cavern appears to breathe.
Belkadhi joins a growing ensemble that already includes Souhir Ben Amara and Fatma Ben Saïdane, both veterans of Tunisian art‑house cinema, with casting still under way for the pivotal sibling roles. Mejri—a Montreal‑trained filmmaker who splits his time between Quebec and Tunis—said in a statement that Belkadhi’s “blend of menace and vulnerability perfectly matches the film’s blurred moral lines.”
The project has been gathering momentum on the festival circuit’s development platforms. It featured in Tallinn Black Nights’ “Goes to Cannes” showcase in May, where buyers responded to its mix of North‑African folklore and contemporary genre stylings, and later appeared on the slate of Cannes’ Fantastic Pavilion. Producers expect principal photography to begin early next year, splitting location work between Tunisia’s other‑worldly salt‑lake landscapes and studio builds in Montreal, with delivery aimed at the 2027 A‑list festival season.
News of Belkadhi’s involvement first surfaced in a trade‑press teaser and was quickly amplified on social media, where the director’s fans welcomed the return of his trademark intensity after a two‑year hiatus from acting. The casting also deepens the film’s local credentials at a time when Tunisian cinema is pushing for bigger international footholds: Belkadhi’s last three features collectively travelled to more than 90 festivals, underscoring the export potential Mejri hopes to tap.
Financing comes from a consortium of Tunisian private investors and Canadian tax‑credit partners, with talks ongoing for a sales agent following the project’s Cannes exposure. If all goes to plan, The Sleeping Grotto could mark one of the first genre co‑productions to bridge the two countries—an ambition Mejri says “mirrors the film’s tension between belonging and estrangement.”
