Halim (Saleh Bakri) and Mina (Lubna Azabal) own a traditional caftan shop in the medina of Salé, Morocco. Mina jealously protects the talent of her companion, a maalem (master caftan tailor), whose know-how tends to disappear today. With the illness that is gnawing at her, it is also the freedom to live as her husband wishes that she intends to ensure. The arrival of a young apprentice, Youssef (Ayoub Missioui), proves to be a powerful catalyst. The couple indeed lives with a secret: that of Halim’s homosexuality.
For her second feature, Moroccan director Maryam Touzani tackles a taboo subject in her country. As in her previous film, Adam, she chooses the camera, that of a threesome this time, to deal with the torments that repressed sexuality induces, both for the person concerned and those around him. Her characters are almost mute but their eyes, on which she lingers very often by filming their faces up close, turn out to be very talkative, especially those of Halim. Her blue-gray eyes are the reflection of a tormented soul. Guided by the staging of Touzani, always refined, the spectator gradually enters the intimacy of a trio whose motivations come down to one feeling: love.
The blue of the caftan was screened in the Un Certain Regard section during the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival during which Franceinfo Afrique met Maryam Touzani. His second film is in the running for the Valois d’or at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, which takes place from August 23 to 28 and Rwanda is the guest country for this 15th edition.
Franceinfo Afrique: your latest feature film is a courageous film on a subject that remains very sensitive in Morocco and in the Arab and Muslim world. Why did you choose to evoke this theme of repressed homosexuality?
Maryam Touzani: I didn’t want to talk about this subject in particular, but rather characters that move me. Halim’s is inspired by many men I’ve met in my life and couples I’ve met who live with this type of unsaid. I think it must be very hard to get up every morning and pretend to be someone else because of social pressure. I met a man in the medina on my last feature film. I never mentioned his intimate life with him, but I had the impression that he was keeping something quiet. Maybe it was my imagination but it all brought back those old memories. The character of Halim that I started writing was this man who became a maalem, who hid his homosexuality and lived on his own, in a kind of darkness.
You dwelt on your characters’ faces and Halim’s blue-gray eyes that say it all. Did you discuss this with Saleh Bakri who embodies it?
For me, it is very important to be able to say things without words, to reduce the dialogues to a minimum and I like to convey the emotions through the looks. With Halim, it’s particularly interesting because blue is an important color in this film. Besides, I didn’t know why my caftan was blue because my mother’s, who inspired me, is black. It may be because blue is a symbol that refers to infinite spaces like the sea and the sky or that rhymes with freedom. At least, for me, when I try to rationalize a choice that really isn’t. I spent months researching this particular blue, this petrol blue that exists in different shades. But I had one in mind and it became an obsession. My bag was full of pieces of blue fabric. I finally found it, this blue, at the Saint-Pierre market in Paris. However, I hadn’t found Halim yet. And I didn’t expect him to have blue eyes. I believe in the symbols and the little signs that life sends you. It came naturally and it made sense. Saleh Bakri had everything I imagined for the character of Halim.
Lubna Azabal plays Mina, a woman who has chosen to live with the man she loves while being aware of her sexual identity. What is the place of this character and his choice in this story?
She is a woman who is as strong as she is fragile. Mina made the choice to stay with her man, against all odds, because she simply loves him. Their love has evolved because they learned to love each other differently, but that’s just them. Halim and Mina have redefined their love and they will redefine it again with the arrival of this young man, Youssef, in their lives. Mina is the engine of this process, especially because she has to face death. She has always sought to protect Halim, and in that sense she is like a mother to him. She wants to give him, in a way, the courage to face the world. Mina wants to leave behind a happy man. She has immense strength of character because it’s not easy to accept that the one you love is in love with someone else. But Mina knows what it is to love!
You find Lubna Azabal after Adam, your first collaboration. You explain that you immediately thought of her for the role of Mina. What moves you about Lubna Azabal?
She is whole! When she likes a character, it’s for real! She is her character when she plays. As a filmmaker, this is something that I appreciate. It’s a gift for a director and it’s very beautiful to direct her. It was Lubna all along because Mina is a very unique character. And I knew Lubna had what I was looking for to play her.
The blue of the caftan, by Maryam Touzani
with Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri and Ayoub Missioui