One of the outstanding films to have emerged from North Africa in recent years, The Silences of the Palace is a spellbinding portrait of life behind the closed doors of the royal palace in the final days of Bey rule in 1950s Tunisia. The news that Prince Sid' Ali has died forces 25 year old Alia to confront her past. During the funeral, she visits the palace grounds where she spent her childhood. In the deserted corridors, she recalls her relationship with her mother, a forbidden friendship and her own act of revolutionary transgression. With outstanding performances and haunting music, this film reveals the lonely life of women, half mistresses half wives, locked up for life in the Arab palace. 1994 winner of the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the International Critics' Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Moufida Tlatli. In Arabic and French with English subtitles.

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