Skip to main content
The Blue Caftan film image, director Maryam Touzani

The Blue Caftan

This event has passed

Richly erotic and deeply moving, Maryam Touzani’s film takes us to urban Morocco and into the lives of three beautiful souls. Halim (Saleh Bakri) is a master tailor; Mina (Lubna Azabal) is his loyal wife; Youssef (Ayoub Missioui) is the man who slowly comes between them. It all looks innocent enough at first: Halim hires Youssef as his apprentice, seemingly impressed by the younger man’s skill and dedication. It soon becomes clear, however, that Halim hides a queer sexuality, and that he deeply desires his new employee.

Shot in subdued shadow and colour by Virginie Surdej, The Blue Caftan is work of palpable sensuality. Every act, from the peeling of tangerines to the gestures of human intimacy, registers like the touch of satin on skin: soft, smooth, deeply tender. Touzani’s direction is subtle and assured, and she creates human portraits that are as powerful in their physicality as they are relatable in their psychology. This is a loving, gently radiant film—a triumph of sympathetic imagination.

 

FIPRESCI Prize, Cannes (Un Certain Regard) 2022

 

Supported by

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui

Credits
Country of Origin

Morocco/France/Belgium/Denmark

Year

2022

Language

In Arabic with English subtitles

Links
18+
122 min
Award Winners Drama LGBTQIA2S+ Women Directors

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

Dir. Dean Fleischer-Camp
121 min

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a heartwarming film for all ages. Marcel, a tiny shell, lives with his grandmother Connie in a human house. When a filmmaker discovers Marcel, they team up to search for his long-lost relatives. Rated: G

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Wedding Banquet

Dir. Andrew Ahn
103 min

This joyful comedy cleverly updates Ang Lee's 1993 gay marriage comedy and transports the action to contemporary Seattle (actually, Vancouver).

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Tornado

Dir. John Maclean
91 min

Scotland in the 1790s, travelling circus samurai Tornado (Kōki) runs afoul of a band of murderous brigands led by Tim Roth and his ambitious son, Jack Lowden. Mayhem ensues.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Two Women

Dir. Chloé Robichaud
100 min

In this light-hearted, emancipatory take on a classic sex farce, two neglected married women discover the joys of casual sex and get their plumbing fixed.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again
Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again film; overhead shot of churning water

Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again

Dir. Lyana Patrick
91 min

In the face of environmental destruction, two Nations fight to restore their river and a way of life.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Fairy Creek

Dir. Jen Muranetz
86 min

Considered the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, the Fairy Creek blockade led to more than 1200 arrests. What Jen Muranetz's film gives us is the story from the front line from the activists' point of view (often, from the treetops).

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Producer

Nabil Ayouch

Screenwriter

Maryam Touzani, Nabil Ayouch

Cinematography

Virginie Surdej

Editor

Nicolas Rumpl

Director

Maryam Touzani headshot, The Blue Caftan director

Maryam Touzani

Morocco native Maryam Touzani’s award-winning short films When They Slept (2012), and Aya Goes to the Beach (2015) screened at many international festivals. She co-wrote Razzia (2017), which premiered at TIFF and represented Morocco at the Academy Awards. She also played the part of Salima, one of the film’s main characters. Touzani has been featured twice at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard category: first in 2019 for her feature directing debut, Adam (2019), which obtained 30 awards around the world, and this year for The Blue Caftan.

Filmography: Adam (2019)