Moufida Tlatli

Moufida Tlatli
مفيدة التلاتلي
Born(1947-08-04)4 August 1947
Sidi Bou Saïd, French Tunisia
Died7 February 2021(2021-02-07) (aged 73)
Tunis, Tunisia
NationalityTunisian
Alma materInstitut des hautes études cinématographiques
Occupations
  • Film director
  • film editor
  • politician
Years active1970–2021
Notable workThe Silences of the Palace

Moufida Tlatli (Tunisian Arabic: مفيدة التلاتلي; 4 August 1947 – 7 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.

Early life

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]

Career

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]

Later life

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]

Filmography

Editor

Year Title Reference
2004 Nadia and Sarra [19]
2000 The Season of Men [19]
1994 The Silences of the Palace [19]
1994 The Fire Dance [20]
1990 Halfaouine Child of the Terraces [19]
1990 The Song of The Rock [21][19]
1989 Leila's My Reason [19]
1988 The Trace [19]
1987 Arab Camera [19]
1986 Arab [22]
1984 Wanderers of The Desert [19]
1983 Crossings [23]
1982 Shadows of The Earth [22][23]
1980 Aziza [22][23]
1979 Nahla [19]
1978 A Ball and Dreams [22]
1977 Omar Katlato [22]
1975 Fatma 75 [22][23]
1974 A People's Victory [24]
1974 Sajnène [23]
1972 In The Land of Trannani [22]

Director

Year Title Notes
2004 Nadia and Sarra [19]
2000 The Season of Men [19][25][26][27]
1994 The Silences of the Palace [19][28][29]

Writer

Year Title Notes
2004 Nadia and Sarra [19]
2000 The Season of Men [21][19]
1994 The Silences of the Palace [19]

References

  1. ^ Traub, Alex (4 March 2021). "Moufida Tlatli, Groundbreaker in Arab Film, Dies at 78 (Published 2021)". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ^ Pulver, Andrew (9 February 2021). "Moufida Tlatli, Silences of the Palace director, dies aged 73". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Moufida Tlatli ist tot: Arabische Kino-Pionierin". Der Spiegel (in German). 9 February 2021. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. ^ "CINEMA Rencontre avec Moufida Tlatli, réalisatrice de "les Silences du palais" Un premier film en forme d'exorcisme". Le Monde.fr (in French). 8 September 1994. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  5. ^ "The 100 greatest foreign-language films: who voted?". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  6. ^ "The 100 greatest films directed by women: Who voted? L-Z". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  7. ^ Silverstein, Melissa; Asante, Amma; Potter, Sally; Latif, Nadia; Hutchinson, Pamela; Young, Jingan; Solemani, Sarah; Gordon, Introduction by Melissa Silverstein With nominations by Amma Asante Emily V.; Ramsay, Lynne (3 November 2017). "Other stories: why now is the time for a new movie canon – chosen by women". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Las 100 mejores películas dirigidas por mujeres, según la BBC". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (1 October 2020). "20 best African films – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Le Grand Prix de la Biennale des cinémas arabes a été attribué à Moufida Tlatli cinéaste tunisien pour La Saison des hommes". Le Monde.fr (in French). 12 July 2000. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Décès de la réalisatrice tunisienne Moufida Tlatli". Kapitalis. El Ghazala, Tunisia. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021. (in French)
  12. ^ a b c d e "Moufida Tlatli". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e Pulver, Andrew (9 February 2021). "Moufida Tlatli, Silences of the Palace director, dies aged 73". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  14. ^ Cousins, Mark (3 September 2012). "African cinema: ten of the best". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  15. ^ "La Saison des Hommes" [The Season of Men]. Festival de Cannes (in French). Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  16. ^ Hillauer, Rebecca (2005). Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers. American University in Cairo Press. p. 453. ISBN 9789774249433.
  17. ^ Ayad, Christophe (18 January 2011). "Tunisie, une transition à hauts risques" [Tunisia, a high-risk transition]. www.liberation.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 8 July 2013.
  18. ^ Traub, Alex (4 March 2021). "Moufida Tlatli, Groundbreaker in Arab Film, Dies at 78". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Moufida Tlatli". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Moufida Tlatli". Mubi. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Moufida Tlatli". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g "Moufida Tlatli". elCinema. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d e Armes, Roy (2008). Dictionary of African Filmmakers. Indiana University Press. p. 125. ISBN 9780253351166.
  24. ^ Touti Moumen présente films tunisiens longs métrages, 1967–1998. M. Touti. 1998. p. 62. ISBN 9789973310439.
  25. ^ Lennon, Peter (22 June 2001). "Sins of the mothers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  26. ^ "BBC - Films - Writer - Moufida Tlatli latest". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  27. ^ Holden, Stephen (28 September 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Married but Seldom With a Husband (Published 2001)". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  28. ^ "The Silences Of The Palace (Le Silence du Palais) | Film | The Guardian". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  29. ^ James, Caryn (30 September 1994). "FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; A Daughter Revisits Her Mother's Oppression (Published 1994)". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 August 2023.