This film by Maryam Touzani made more than 300,000 admissions in France and won an award at Cannes in 2022. Initially scheduled for February, the Moroccan release had been postponed several times, but this time the film, which tackles the sensitive issue of homosexuality in Moroccan society will be screened in the halls of the kingdom.
A master weaver of a caftan, a traditional outfit from North Africa, who falls in love with his apprentice: the story of the film The Blue of the Caftan by Maryam Touzani is not commonplace in Morocco. In a country where homosexuality is punishable by law, talking about relationships between men can be controversial.
But faced with the contrary currents that cross Moroccan society, the screenwriter and director wants to believe in a cohabitation between tradition and modernity: “I think that there are certain traditions which are very beautiful, which must be protected, preserved and celebrated and that there are also other traditions which it is necessary to be able to shake up and question. also beautiful is the complexity of a society and accepting that we can be many things at the same time.”
“I wanted to approach through the film this complexity of love and beings.”
Maryam Touzani, directorat franceinfo
In order not to rush a society still unaccustomed to these themes in the public domain, The blue of the caftan made the bet to talk about the different ways of loving. There are many forms of love throughout the film, from the master weaver’s love for his craft, which he intends to preserve in the strictest tradition, to love for his wife but also for his lover.
The blue of the caftan presents the love of the master and his apprentice beyond sexuality, but as an integral part of the great feelings that run through human lives. An approach that greatly appealed to the researcher and activist for gender equality in Morocco, Soufiane Hennani: “For once, we are addressing the question of LGBTQ+ which is a question in Morocco, which is very politicized, very polarized too. And in The blue of the caftanthe director had the intelligence to approach the question in a very subtle way, while speaking of love.”
Beyond homosexuality, speaking of love and intimacy to Moroccan society is also one of the issues of this film. Mariam Touzani and Nabil Ayouch, the producer, hope to show Moroccan audiences that they can be proud of their diversity. Nabil Ayouch also says he is satisfied with the initial reactions of spectators in the kingdom. “This film moves the lines in a rather surprising way on everything that has to do with intimacy, everything that has to do with love, the way of loving, the different ways of loving, it was very beautiful I confess to you.” Spectators can discover The blue of the caftan in the 13 Moroccan cinemas which will broadcast it for several weeks throughout the country.