Moufida Tlatli | |
Birth Date: | 4 August 1947 |
Birth Place: | Sidi Bou Saïd, French Tunisia |
Death Place: | Tunis, Tunisia |
Nationality: | Tunisian |
Alma Mater: | Institut des hautes études cinématographiques |
Yearsactive: | 1970–2021 |
Notable Works: | The Silences of the Palace |
Moufida Tlatli (مفيدة التلاتلي; 4 August 19477 February 2021) was a Tunisian film director, screenwriter, and editor.[1] [2] [3] [4] She is best known for her breakthrough film The Silences of the Palace,[5] [6] [7] [8] which won several international awards and was praised by critics. She made two more well received movies,The Season of Men [9] [10] and Nadia and Sarra.
Moufida Tlatli was born in Sidi Bou Said, a suburb of the capital Tunis, on 4 August 1947. Her interest in cinema was piqued by her philosophy teacher.[11] She moved to Paris in 1965, where she studied film editing and screenplay at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques.[12] She subsequently went back to Tunisia in 1972 and started off as a film editor.[12] [13] One of the notable films she edited was Halfaouine Child of the Terraces (1990) by Férid Boughedir.[12]
Moufida Tlatli made her directorial debut with The Silences of the Palace (1994). She drew inspiration for the film from the challenging experiences her mother endured as an Arab woman.[13] The film was acclaimed critically and won several awards: Cannes Film Festival's Golden Camera, the Carthage Film Festival's Golden Tanit, British Film Institute's Sutherland Trophy, Toronto Film Festival's International Critics' Award, and Istanbul International Film Festival's Golden Tulip.[12] It was later categorized as one of the ten best films from Africa by film director and critic Mark Cousins in September 2012.[14]
The second film Moufida Tlatli directed, The Season of Men (2000), was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival that year.[15] It was awarded the Grand Prix by the Arab World Institute, as well as awards at film festivals held in Namur, Valencia, Torino, and Stuttgart.[12] She subsequently sat as a juror of the Cannes Film Festival. She became only the second director from the Maghreb to do so, after Boughedir one decade before.[16] Her third and final film, Nadia and Sarra (2004), featured Palestinian actor–director Hiam Abbass in the title role.[13]
Tlatli was appointed as Minister of Culture by Tunisia's provisional government in 2011, following the Tunisian Revolution and the ousting of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.[13] [17]
Tlatli died of COVID-19 on 7 February 2021, at age 73.[13] She was survived by her husband, Mohamed Tlatli, her daughter Selima Chaffai and son, Walid, and five grandchildren.[18]
2004 | Nadia and Sarra | [19] | |
2000 | The Season of Men | ||
1994 | The Silences of the Palace | ||
1994 | The Fire Dance | [20] | |
1990 | Halfaouine Child of the Terraces | ||
1990 | The Song of The Rock | [21] | |
1989 | Leila's My Reason | ||
1988 | The Trace | ||
1987 | Arab Camera | ||
1986 | Arab | [22] | |
1984 | Wanderers of The Desert | ||
1983 | Crossings | [23] | |
1982 | Shadows of The Earth | ||
1980 | Aziza | ||
1979 | Nahla | ||
1978 | A Ball and Dreams | ||
1977 | Omar Katlato | ||
1975 | Fatma 75 | ||
1974 | A People's Victory | [24] | |
1974 | Sajnène | ||
1972 | In The Land of Trannani |
2004 | Nadia and Sarra | ||
2000 | The Season of Men | [25] [26] [27] | |
1994 | The Silences of the Palace | [28] [29] |
Year | Title | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Nadia and Sarra | ||
2000 | The Season of Men | ||
1994 | The Silences of the Palace |