Golshifteh Farhani in ‘Arab Blues’ Photocall at 76th Venice festival

Some parts of the storyline do amuse – not least the bureaucratic nightmare that Selma faces after she discovers a license is required to practice in Tunisia. While visiting the Ministry of Health, she encounters a woman who seems oblivious to the million hoops that Selma must go through – she needs a letter of recommendation from a senior Tunisian official to ratify her application. Where can she get that from? Well, another senior official, and so on.