Unconventional Moroccan love story wins prize at Marrakech Film Festival

“The Blue Caftan”, which won the Jury Prize at the Marrakech International Film Festival in November, explores what people are capable of when it comes to love. Through the eyes of a tailor, Moroccan director Maryam Touzani reveals ordinary people trying to find a balance between tradition, modernity and freedom in a conservative society.

“The Blue Caftan” – which premiered at Cannes earlier this year – shared the Marrakech International Film Festival's Jury Prize with “Alma Viva”, directed by French-Portuguese filmmaker Cristèle Alves Meira.

Set in the heart of a Moroccan medina, Touzani's film delves into the lives of three complex characters, each grappling with a secret.

Halim, played by Saleh Bakri, is a maalem, a master tailor. His life revolves around the art of making beautiful caftans by hand.

He is married to Mina, played by Lubna Azabal, who is unwell and knows she is dying. Halim is torn between being a dutiful husband and his hidden homosexuality.

Although society ostracizes him, he underestimates the power of love. He realises that he has a wife who is willing to go beyond her religious beliefs to support him.

The couple are thrilled to find a young apprentice, Youssef, played by Ayoub Missioui, who agrees to take on tasks in the workshop with a dedication and care rare for his generation.

Homage to heritage

Touzani says showing her love for Morocco's cultural heritage was also very much part of making the film.

The caftan of the title represents not only tradition, but the craftsmanship and quality associated with artisanal practices that are quietly disappearing in the north African country.

“These professions are part of our history, our DNA,” Touzani told RFI after the screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

“They define us and make us who we are, but sadly we live in a world where everything is going too fast and we're losing this know-how.

“Perhaps in 20 years there won't be any craftsmen anymore because the skills have not been passed on.”

“The Blue Caftan” is a sensual film where facial expressions and gestures weigh as much as words. Scenes take place mostly indoors, filmed in close-up, with tender attention to detail.

This is thanks to cinematographer Virginie Surdej, who also worked on Touzani's debut film “Adam”, released in 2019.

“When Halim touches the fabric, I wanted the viewers to feel the touch of this fabric,” Touzani says.

“I wanted the audience to be immersed in this world, leading us to Halim's soul. Through his work, we understand who Halim is, his passion takes on a concrete form.”

Portrait of a society

Jealousy arises from the new working relationship between Halim and Youssef, but it is short-lived when Mina realises that by accepting her husband's attraction to the younger man, she can set him free.

Dealing with marriage, the burden of keeping one's sexuality secret, accepting death as part of life: stitch by stitch, Touzani weaves the three stories together, fashioning the portrait of a society with all its beauty and contradictions.

Only towards the end does the audience glimpse a form of release, more sky, more light, as the troubles weighing on the characters are lifted one by one.

Touzani is not one to shy away from society's sensitive issues.

She played the role of the rebellious, sexy Salima in the 2017 film “Razzia”, directed by her husband Nabil Ayouch, with whom she also wrote the screenplay. The story follows five young people in Casablanca who want to break free from the constraints of life under an extremist government.

She then co-wrote the screenplay for “Casablanca Beats”, also directed by Ayouch and screened in Cannes in 2021.

It portrays young dancers trying to carve out a niche for themselves in a conservative society through hip-hop culture.

Changing perspectives

Morocco's top cinema body has picked “The Blue Caftan” as its submission for best international feature film at the 2023 Oscars.

But Touzani is well aware that the film may never be screened in her homeland, beyond the privileged world of festival audiences.

Morocco criminalises male and female same-sex sexual activity, which is punished with up to three years in jail and a fine.

But this does not deter her. In fact, for Touzani it is a reason to persist in seeking ways to share her message of love and tolerance.

“When people's perspectives change, society changes too, and then the laws follow. That's why it's very important to tell stories like Halim's, for they can change people's thinking,” she says.