“Everybody loves Touda”, interview with director Nabil Ayouch and actress Nisrin Erradi

Nabil Ayouch: “It was my wish come true to finally dedicate a film to a sheika singer”

“Everybody loves Touda”, interview with director Nabil Ayouch and actress Nisrin Erradi Chiara Nicoletti

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Presented in Cannes Premiere at the 77th edition, “Everybody Loves Touda” is the new film by Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch.

Written by Ayouch together with his life partner, director Maryam Touzani, “Everybody Loves Touda“, through the protagonist’s character, Touda ( Nisrin Erradi) pays homage to the Sheikhats, strong independent singers belonging to the Moroccan tradition since the 19th century.

With Erradi, the director remarks on the importance of bringing to the big screen stories like these as they’re the best way to show the world that such figures of independence, fight and strength exist in the Arabic world.

Plot

Touda only dreams of one thing: being a Sheikha, a traditional Moroccan performer. She belts out songs about resistance, love and emancipation, passed down from generation to generation. Every evening, she performs in bars under the gaze of men in her tiny village while hoping for a better future for her and her son. Disrespected and shamed, she sets her sights on leaving for the bright lights of Casablanca…

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