• Director(s):

    BENGUIGUI (YAMINA)

  • Producer(s):

    LA SEPT ARTE, DOMINANT 7

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2000

  • Language(s):

    German, English, French

  • Rights:

    NON-THEATRICAL, TV, DVD

The journey of an Algerian-French woman director into the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society.

The Perfumed Garden is the journey of an Algerian-French woman director into the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society. Yamina Benguigui met men and women of all ages and classes recounting how sexuality is lived in their own daily lives. In this film, she lifts a corner of the veil shrouding all discussion of the subject in Arab societies. We discover both a world of taboos and of erotic literature, a radical reinterpretation of the modern Arab world so often demonised by western cultures. From Morocco to France, The Perfumed Garden explores how the rich legacy of sensuality and fantasy of the "thousand and One Arabian Nights" still exists as a form of survival and resistance, revealing a world of pleasure which still permeates contemporary Arab culture.

2001 : Best Documentary at the Vues D'afrique Festival (Montreal); Rencontres Media Nord-Sud; FIPA 2001; Prix du Meilleur Film de Jeunes at the Festival International du Film de Femmes de Turin.