Lilia is around forty, an ordinary mother and wife who, after the loss of her husband, decides to live only for her daughter Salma. She thus becomes alarmed when she discovers that Salma is dating young Chokri, a cabaret musician. One evening, she decides to go to the cabaret in order to “save” her daughter but instead unexpectedly finds a completely new and unfamiliar world.
Modern-day Tunis. Lilia is around forty years of age and lives only for her adolescent daughter Salma. After losing her husband she suppresses all her womanly desires and sacrifices her life for her daughter. She thus becomes alarmed when she discovers that Salma is dating young Chokri, a musician at the Red Satin cabaret. One evening, she decides to go to the cabaret in order to “save” her daughter but instead unexpectedly finds a completely new and unfamiliar world. A world which, on the one hand, she despises and fears, but on the other, she finds extremely enticing. Initially, she justifies her more frequent visits to the bar by helping the female dancers with their costumes and sewing for them when the need arises. Gradually, however, Lilia begins to drop her defences and, when she tries on a dance costume for the first time, she finds her feminine side reawakening and rediscovers carefully hidden and stifled desires, slumbering in a still young and beautiful body. Matters are complicated, however, when Lilia realises she is not indifferent to Chokri; Salma finally decides to tell her mother about her relationship and introduces her to her boyfriend.
91 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Raja Amari
/ Screenplay Raja Amari
/ Dir. of Photography Diane Baratier
/ Music Nawfel El Manaa
/ Editor Pauline Dairou
/ Producer Alain Rozanes, Pascal Verroust
/ Production ADR Productions, Nomadis Images
/ Cast Hiam Abbass, Hend El Fahem, Maher Kamoun, Faouzia Badr
Raja Amari (1971, Tunis) worked as a film critic for the Tunisian magazine Cinécrits during the years 1992-1994. She finished studying French literature at Tunis university in 1993. In 1996 she wrote the radio play Le sable qui chante. From 1994 to 1998 she studied film at FEMIS college in Paris. For her dissertation she wrote the screenplay for the film Satin rouge for which she was honoured with the summa cum laude honours. Satin rouge is her feature-film debut. Filmography: Avril (short, 1998), Un soir de juillet (short, 2000), Red Satin (Satin rouge, 2002).
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