'Everybody Loves Touda' marks Morocco's 20th submission for the Oscars since the country began participating in the category in 1977.
Morocco has chosen Nabil Ayouch’s film Everybody Loves Touda as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards. The film, which premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, is being handled by MK2 Films for international sales.
Ayouch, who produced The Blue Caftan—the first Moroccan film to make the Oscars shortlist in 2023—returns with Everybody Loves Touda, a feature that delves into Morocco’s tradition of Sheikhat, a form of sung poetry historically performed by women. Once respected in rural communities, Sheikhat performers saw their status decline as they migrated to urban bars and clubs during the rural exodus of the 1970s.
In the film, Nisrin Erradi plays a young woman determined to revive the revered status of Sheikhat, but she instead finds herself performing in seedy provincial bars.
Everybody Loves Touda was selected by a commission led by the Moroccan Cinema Centre, which included notable industry figures such as producer Souad Lamriki and filmmakers Driss Mrini and Asmae El Moudir. This marks Morocco’s 20th submission to the Oscars since 1977 and the sixth time a film by Ayouch has been chosen to represent the country.
The film is produced by Ayouch’s Ali n’Productions, along with Les Films du Nouveau Monde, Velvet Films, Snowglobe, Viking Films and Staer.
