'Everybody Loves Touda' review: bringing a country's film industry to life

Nisrin Erradi is already famously known for creating committed films which criticise Moroccan society, which has caused him several severe scandals. Since his marriage in 2018 with another Moroccan filmmaker Maryma Touzani, who later became famous for the same reasons, they have collaborated in every single of their projects.

Every Body Loves Touda is by far their best screenplay as well as the best directorial effort from Ayouch. For their leading actress they chose the star of Maryam's first movie, Nisrin Erradi, who had already stood out in the industry for her beauty. She was born for the role; she perfectly fits into the character traits, is artistically talented and is excellent at mixing past trauma and joyful passion.

The film puts her as a traditional Sheikhat, a type of female artist known for sharing joy and art in Moroccan parties by dancing and singing. At the beginning of the film, after a performance at a private night party, she is victim of rape by one of her clients in a traumatic scene. Years later she is still practicing her passion, but now she’s accompanied by her deaf son, born after this horrific event. Despite her complicated situation, she aspires to bigger dreams, to move to the big city in Casablanca, to make her passion her full-time job while raising her son. As all the critics agree on, Nisrin carries the entire film alone. Her talent shines on the screen and her songs bring joy to a whole generation of young Moroccan cinephiles who discovered here the best Moroccan movie of all time.

In addition to her historical performance, she took enormous risk by accepting this role. Every actor or actress who played the lead of a Nabil Ayouch film had to endure scandals after the release of the film. The most severe case happened in 2015 when the cast of Much Loved resorted to bodyguards then had to leave the country due to the danger they incur after the public protest. Beside this bet, she also spent more than a year practicing her singing with actual traditional Sheikhat in real parties and refused many roles during that period to only focus on her character of Touda. Her talent, beauty and love for art broke this curse that so far prevented the industry from expanding. The film has been a great success at the box office and with critics, with an entire population falling for a wonderful voice that brought them a story about always following your dreams and living your passion.

Thanks to Nisrin Erradi, a movie that denounces the unfair treatment of Sheikhats in a modern world has become the starting point of what could be one day the Moroccan Hollywood. To this day she continues her acting career as the best Moroccan performer and maybe soon, give a new lease of life into a developing cinema.