Powerpoint for Silences of the Palace

1. SILENCES OF
THE PALACE
Moufida Tlatli
1994

2. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. Think about the act of looking in that defines
and structure the film How does this engage with
the act of looking embodied in the images of
harems? Does this film have a “female” gaze, and if
so what does that mean?
2. The film contains many divisions, separations,
oppositions. What are some of these and how do
they function in the film?
3. This story functions as a national allegory. What
does it say, in that regard, about colonialism, about
independence, and about women’s place in both?
4. Silences are an important theme in the film.
What sorts of silences are there in the film? What
do we understand about Tunisia, about women,
about men, about power through these silences?

3. CONTEXT
Made in 1994
Has dual temporality, the eve of independence
in Tunisia (circa 1956) and 10 years after
independence (circa 1966), both of which are
closely intertwined
Film is overtly a feminine film (Tlatli has
described it as such)
Borrows from both colonial and post-colonial
narratives and images of the past
Film also references other “male” films of
Maghrebi independence, most notaly
Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina’s Chronicle of the
Years of Embers (1975)

4. SETTING

5. SETTINGS
In the palace (the past is entirely in the palace)
Upstairs with the royal family
In the kitchen
Bedrooms (masters and servants)
Weddings
Hallways and Corridors
Alia and Lotfi’s home (present)
In the car (with Lotfi driving)

6. WOMEN’S SPACES
(FANTASY VS. REALITY

7. UPPER CLASS WOMEN VS.
WORKING CLASS WOMEN

8. MEN VS. WOMEN

9. MALE GAZE VS. FEMALE
GAZE

10. SILENCES

11. PERFORMANCE AND
POWER OR
POWERLESSNESS

12. OCCUPATION VS.
INDEPENDENCE

13. PROMISE VS. REALITY
OF REVOLUTION

14. THEMES
Tunisian Independence
Critique of Failures of Independence
Exploration of Colonial Past
Exploration of Women’s Place in Society
Critique of Male Power / Control of Women
Assertion (visually) of a need for women’s voices and
gaze (women’s films)
Exploration of Women’s Roles, Relationships
Exploration / Critique of Class Divisions