Fifteen years after the end of the Algerian war Lila returns to her native region obsessed by memories of the war for independence that defined her childhood. Reading the history of her country as written in the stories of women's lives, the film is an engrossing portrait of speech and silence, memory and creation, and a tradition where the past and present coexist. This classic film from acclaimed novelist/filmmaker Assia Djebar is essential viewing for an understanding of women in Algeria. Taking its title and structure from the Nouba, a traditional song of five movements, the film mingles narrative and documentary styles to document the creation of women's personal and cultural histories. Assia Djebar is widely hailed as one of the most important figures in francophone Maghrebian literature and became the first Muslim North African woman to be elected as a member of the prestigious French Academy in 2005. (A Women Make Movies release) Assia Djebar | Algeria 1977 | 1h55m | BETA SP | Arabic with English subtitles | 15 CONTACT Women Make Movies 462 Broadway, 5th floor - NY 10013, USA info@wmm.com Tél: +1 212-925-0606 PRIX / FESTIVALS / AWARDS / DISTINCTIONS / TELEVISIONS 2007 | Africa in Motion | EDINBURGH, Scottland | www.africa-in-motion.org.uk * Selection (PIONEERING WOMEN DIRECTORS) * UK Premiere