In “Everybody Loves Touda”, Nabil Ayouch pays tribute to the shikhates, despised singers: “Injustice is the common thread of my work”

Shikhates are popular singers admired but also despised: why?

At the beginning, these women were considered heroines: through their song, the Aïta, they expressed political messages, they were the soul and voice of the country. But from the 50s and 60s, because of poverty, they left their countryside for big cities like Casablanca. They sang in cabarets, bars and other shady places full of alcohol and prostitution. Therefore they were looked down upon by most people. That’s why I decided to make this film: to give them back status.

In the role of Touda, Nisrine Erradi is amazing. How did you choose it?

She played in AdamMaryam’s first film (Editor’s note: Touzani, director of Caftan Bluewife and artistic partner of Nabil Ayouch). With Maryam, we live and work together, and we co-wrote the character with Nisrine in mind. It was her, or nothing. So I chose her, but she chose me too. For a year and a half, she prepared thoroughly, she learned to sing, move – and speak too, because they have their own way of speaking and language.

That’s to say ?

In the film, when the subtitles are in yellow, it is to indicate that they speak in “Raous”, a language invented by and for Shikhates so as not to be understood by other Moroccans. But there is also the way that they talk about. And rhythm is essential: you can have the most beautiful voice in the world, learn all the Aîtas you want, if you don’t have rhythm, you’re not a shikhate. Nisrine trained for a long time to achieve the result we see in the film.

Through Touda, does the film convey a broader statement about male-female relationships?

Yes, in a certain way, these chikhates express through their songs universal struggles, which are unfortunately still relevant today: for the right to education, inheritance…

Which filmmakers inspire you?

Pour ToudaI thought about Cabaret, Thelma et Louise… But in my life, the one who inspired me the most was Charlie Chaplin. I grew up in Sarcelles, a communist working-class suburb of Paris, and that’s where I discovered his cinema. A cinema based on injustice. This is what has shaped my perspective as a filmmaker: injustice is the common thread of my work.

A word on the title, why “Everybody Loves Touda”?

I wanted a title with a double meaning, which was ironic. Because Touda is loved, but not necessarily in the right way…