Fri 15 September – 19:30 The Venue
Morocco 2022
Dir: Maryam Touzani
Cert 12A
118 mins
Starring: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui.
Halim is a master tailor and embroiderer, the proud practitioner of a traditional craft that is slowly dying out. He creates his sumptuous, bespoke caftans in his shop in a Moroccan medina, unhurriedly and with the devotion of a true artist. Halim is long married to Mina, who is by now terminally ill. Although their marriage is a strong and loving one they keep an important secret from the outside world. Halim is gay, a fact that Mina has gradually come to accept, but this modus vivendi is further tested by the arrival of Youssef, a young apprentice to whom Halim is obviously attracted. Youssef’s arrival is a pivotal moment in Halim and Mina’s marriage. Both of them could be destroyed. Mina is already very weak and Halim is potentially putting himself at considerable risk in a society where homosexuality is taboo. But maybe there is another way? The future is in Mina’s hands. Like the caftans themselves, this is a film beautifully crafted – subtle and humane.
Trailer:
