Tunisia / 2000 / 26mins / Drama / Arabic

Saida is a widow who helps prepare women for their wedding ceremonies. When one woman, Miriam, expresses her disgust for the man she is to marry, Saida encourages her dreams of liberation.

Part of Mama Africa: Growing Up Urban - a selection of short films by African women

Raja Amari

Born in 1971 in Tunis, Tunisia, Amari trained as a belly dancer at the Conservatoire de Tunis and also received a degree in Romance languages with an emphasis on art history from the University of Tunis. After working as a film critic for Cinécrit (1992–1994) she moved on to film studies in Paris at the Institut de Formation et d'Enseignement pour les Métiers de l'Image et Son (National Higher Institute for Audiovisual Media Studies) between 1994 and 1998. Amari went on to become a film director. She lists as her influences Pier Paolo Pasolini, François Truffaut, and the new French cinema, as well as actresses from Egyptian musicals from the 1940s and 1950s, such as Samia Gamal, whose freedom and ability to shift between Oriental and Occidental styles reflect Amari's own love of dance. Her award-winning, full-length film Satin Rouge (Red Satin; 2002) focuses on the transformative powers of self-expression, which a middle-aged Tunisian widow, the seamstress Lilia, discovers through belly dancing. Amari became well known after the release of Satin Rouge. It won the Public Prize for the best African film at the 2002 Montréal Film Festival, the New Director's Showcase Award at the 2002 Seattle International Film Festival, and the Prize of the City of Turin for best international feature film at the 2002 Turin International Festival of Young Cinema. Learn More