'The Blue Caftan': Maryan Touzani, Nabil Ayouch talk the story behind the film

• Published date: 24 April 2024
• Author: HANNAH BROWN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

They were part of a group of Moroccan filmmakers attending the festival and said they had been to Israel several times in the past, presenting their previous movies and serving on film festival juries

Although there has been a normalization agreement between Israel and Morocco since 2020, they both felt that the two countries have been connected artistically for more than two decades.

"We didn't wait for political agreements to come here," said Ayouch, who has directed such movies as Casablanca Beats (2021), about the rap scene in Morocco, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and which Touzani wrote with him. "My films have been shown in Israel. Maryam's films have been shown here."

What is The Blue Caftan about?

The Blue Caftan is a beautifully photographed film that tells the story of a complex triangle. Saleh Bakri, best known in Israel for his Ophir Award-winning performance in The Band's Visit by Eran Kolirin, plays Halim, who is a master tailor and runs a shop in a medina with his wife, Mina (Lubna Azabal, who starred in the Oscar-nominated film Incendies, as well as Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor's Strangers).

She runs the place and keeps it organized but it is he who has great skill with sewing and embroidery. He creates each gorgeous garment through hours and hours of meticulous work. Yet the two are under pressure. People don't care about handcrafted clothing as much as they used to, and they are reluctant to pay for quality work, which is tough on the couple.

What is far tougher is that Mina is dying of cancer. She musters all her strength to bargain with customers but she is fading. When a new apprentice, Youssef (Ayoub Missioui), comes to learn the trade and help Halim, Mina is forced to confront a truth she has avoided for years: Halim is gay and he and Youssef are falling deeply in love. She and Halim also love each other very much and as her life ebbs away, she struggles to let go and give Hailm her blessing for his new relationship. The film examines the contradictions between the couple's devotion to a tradition that values a tailor's skills and handcrafted work but also condemns any love between two men.

A CHANCE encounter led to Touzani coming up with the idea for the screenplay.

"I met an older man and he talked to me about his life," said Touzani, who worked as a journalist before becoming a filmmaker. "I was moved by him and by all the things I sensed he...