Morocco has selected Nabil Ayouch’s drama Everybody Loves Touda as its submission to the Best International Feature Film category of the 97th Academy Awards.
The feature sees Ayouch explore the country’s tradition of Sheikhat, a type of sung poetry performed by female performers which has its roots in 19th century rural communities. Once revered, these performers saw their status undermined amid the rural exodus of the 1970s, which saw them moving into bars and cabaret clubs.
Nisrin Erradi plays a young woman who with aspirations of reviving the once hallowed status of Sheikhat, but who finds herself instead performing in provincial bars under the gaze of lustful men.
Everybody Loves Touda was selected as Morocco’s submission by commission overseen by the Moroccan Cinema Centre.
It consisted of producer Souad Lamriki; producer-directors Layla Triqui, Asmae El Moudir, Driss Mrini and Driss Roukhe as well as Zine El Abidine Charafeddine, director of the Dakhla International Film Festival.
Everybody Loves Touda is Morocco’s 20th Oscar submission since it started participating in the category in 1977, and the sixth time a film directed by Ayouch has been selected to represent the country.
Morocco has never made it to nomination stage in the Best International Feature Film category, although recent submissions The Blue Caftan by Maryam Touzani and The Mother of All Lies by Asmae El Moudir both made it onto the 15-film December shortlist in 2022 an 2023
Everybody Loves Touda is produced by Ayouch under his Ali n’Productions banner with Les Films du Nouveau Monde, Velvet Films, Snowglobe, Viking Films and Staer. Paris-based mk2 films is handling international sales.
