Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Eya Bouteraa interview on In a Whisper: Berlin acclaim, playing Lilia & identity and belonging

Eya Bouteraa tells us about the emotions behind her award-winning performance in In a Whisper. She discusses the significance of winning her first prize at the Malta festival and reflects on what receiving a Bee Award so early in her career means to her. Bouteraa describes how the mother–daughter bond at the heart of Leyla Bouzid’s script first connected her to Lilia, the character she plays. She explains the physical and vocal choices she made to convey restraint and inner turmoil, favouring stillness and a grounded voice over natural fluidity. Drawing on her own experience of living between Tunisia and France, Bouteraa explores Lilia’s fractured sense of belonging. She speaks warmly of working alongside Hiam Abbass, crediting their off-screen friendship with bringing authenticity to their scenes together. Bouteraa also discusses how Lilia’s search for the truth about her uncle becomes a mirror for her own self-acceptance and ability to love openly. She says tolerance is the message she hopes audiences—particularly young people in Tunisia—take from the film, and shares how a chance encounter with theatre changed the direction of her life.

Interviewer: Laura Della Corte
Editing: Olivia Barker

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