Cannes 2025: Nadia Melliti wins Best Actress for The Little Last One
The 23-year-old student, who is moving in her role as a young Muslim homosexual in Hafsia Herzi's film, her first film role, has been rightly rewarded.
As a tribute to the late Émilie Dequenne, revealed 25 years ago in Rosetta , the Palme d'Or winner by the Dardenne brothers, and to whom this 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is dedicated, it is a beautiful unknown who shines in the light. By receiving the award for best actress, Nadia Melliti makes a sensational entrance into the industry. Her award confirms the shock of her first appearance on screen in La Petite dernière , the third feature film by actress Hafsia Herzi, adapted from the autobiographical novel by Fatima Daas, published in 2020.
The story of the sexual and emotional emancipation of a young homosexual Muslim woman from the suburbs. Over four seasons, the cap-wearing teenager will discover philosophy school and Étienne de la Boétie's Discourse on Voluntary Servitude ( "Equals Among Equals" ), Gay Pride, dating sites, Parisian lesbian bars (Mutinerie, Rosa Bonheur), sensuality and true love, along with heartbreak.
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Nadia Melliti had never acted in a film before shooting La Petite dernière . The 23-year-old STAPS (science and technology of physical and sports activities) student was walking the streets of Paris when she was spotted. “We did a substantial double casting, of professionals and non-professionals, for over a year in several cities,” says Hafsia Hersi, explaining how she found Nadia Melliti. “Over time, I received photos from the casting director, Audrey Gini. When I came across her, I was like, ‘Wow!’ But I thought she was mixed race, not North African, as required. She was filmed the first time with her hair covering her face. Two weeks later, she received a call back. And there was a camera problem. She ended up coming for auditions. At that point, I give zero indication.” They arrive and improvise without knowing which characters they will play… When I met her, I was struck by emotion without having to communicate much. She told me a little, especially about her studies, and as I left the room, with her back to me, I understood that it would be her. Like a kind of artistic love at first sight. I saw the character in each of her gestures and I was able to project it onto her. She spoke Arabic fluently. I loved her aura, her mystery… She reminded me of an Egyptian divinity. I dreamed of an encounter like that, because the film relies entirely on her. As soon as I put the camera on her, almost instantly, I knew 100% that everything was there and that she would go beyond what I imagined. She is reliable, mature, intelligent and made for this.”
Hafsia Herzi, revealed at the age of 20 by Abdellatif Kechiche in La Graine et le Mulet , is now the Pygmalion of a young woman at the dawn of her life.
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