Tunis — Following a spate of participations respectively at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, the 2009 Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi, the "Tout Ecrans" film festival in Switzerland and the "Apt" festival in France, Raja Amari's "El Dowaha" (Buried Secrets) won the Grand Prix at the 27 th Arte Mare Mediterranean Cultures and Film Festival in Corsica, which was held from November 23 to 28, in the city of Bastia.

Her second long feature movie after "Satin Rouge"(2001), "Buried Secrets" continues Raja Amara's exploration of the struggle of women torn between modernity and tradition. Starring Hafsia Terzi, in the role of "Aicha", the movie shows the dramatic cohabitation of two clashing worlds.

In Corsica, "Buried Secrets" was in competition with 6 other movies including Samuel Maoz's "Lebanon" which received the Golden Lion at the latest Venice Film Festival.

Arte Mare's Grand Prix is the first major international distinction for the 38 year old talented Tunisian filmmaker and bodes well for her future cinema career. The distinction is also a welcome boon for Tunisian cinema as a whole, and more especially for Tunisian women film directors.