Raja Amari

Raja Amari (; born 4 April 1971) is a Tunisian film director and script writer. She is best known for her films Satin Rouge/Red Satin, and Dowaha/Les Secrets/Buried Secrets (2009), both of which have earned international awards and recognition.

Early life and education Born in Tunis, Amari trained in dance at the Conservatoire de Tunis, gaining first prize in dance in 1992. to study screenwriting. After graduating in 1998, she began to work on her film portfolio. She is also a member of the 50/50 collective, which aims to promote gender equality and diversity in cinema and audiovisual media.

Career Raja Amari has been said to have a "transvergent" style in her work. Stacey Weber-Fève, argued Amari's style means her work transcends national cinema and has the ability to connect with a "national identity" depending on the given context and temporality of her films.

When asked about her influences, Amari responded in an interview with Indiewire that they include François Ozon and Arnaud Desplechin. -Raja Amari, Indiewire, August 20, 2002Amari’s work, particularly Red Satin has been argued to have opened up new avenues and opportunities for the portrayal of Tunisian women in film and society. Author Stacey Weber-Fève asserts that Amari’s portrayal of the protagonist, Lilia, performing housework in the first few scenes of the film, “captures concretely the possibility for (re)appropriating female representation in contemporary North African cinema.” She also asserts that Amari, “levies new debates addressing interpretations of performances of women’s traditional roles and desire for self-expression in contemporary Tunisian society by engaging in a multilayered manner the ideological implications of this traditional social construct of the housewife and her comportment.”

Personal life Raja Amari currently resides in Paris, France.

Awards and nominations