'The blue caftan', the film that has opened the debate on homosexuality in Morocco

Homosexuality is punishable in Morocco.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
09 March 2023 Thursday 13:35
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'The blue caftan', the film that has opened the debate on homosexuality in Morocco

Homosexuality is punishable in Morocco. People in same-sex relationships face jail terms of three months to three years if caught. But now a movie, The Blue Caftan, has opened the closet door a bit and also the debate on homosexuality in this country. The film obtained a state subsidy for its shooting and was later selected as the Moroccan representative for the Oscars.

In addition to its quality and delicacy, El caftán azul has had an applauded run at various international festivals. It went through Cannes and its protagonist, Lubna Azabal, won the award for best actress in the last edition of Seminci. "That the film was selected for the Oscars means a lot to me, because it is a symbol of the desire to open up, to debate. The mere fact that the script won a grant is a very important step forward, a positive sign," he says in an interview with La Vanguardia Maryam Touzani, the director of El caftán azul, which hits Spanish screens this Friday.

Halim (Saleh Bakri) and Mina (Lubna Azabal) are a loving and respectful couple. Also, they work together. Halim is a dressmaker and sews some wonderful kaftans in his workshop in the center of the city of Salé. Mina runs the business and attends to the clients. The couple hire an assistant Youssef, played by Ayoub Messioui, to help Halim with his tasks. Something arises between the two men that does not go unnoticed by Mina who, at the same time, is facing a serious illness.

"In Morocco it is difficult to experience homosexuality openly, although it is different for young people, who find spaces of freedom in places like social networks," Touzani points out. For older people it has been very complex and it is not at all strange for gay men to marry women and have children: "When I was a child I knew couples whose husbands were known to be homosexual, that's why I wanted to tell this story, I've seen in Morocco, but also in other countries like France or the United States. Men with a double life for 20 or 30 years. It happens all over the world. There are people who don't come out of the closet for various reasons," he adds.

That marriage could have been a prison for Halim and also for Mina. However, in the couple "there is love, she chooses that husband and stays with him because she wants him, not because society imposes it on her, but because of true love, although this choice forces her to give up part of her femininity, to modify their love, but they both love each other and have been together for 25 years, because there is not just one way to love each other", explains the director.

The blue caftan is also a love song to tradition, to the art of traditional tailoring, of the master seamstress, which little by little is disappearing in Morocco: "That hurts me, because traditions are part of our DNA and must be protected, although they don't have to be immovable and can be modified," says Touzani, who grew up "in my mother's caftan, I would try it on and try it on until it fit me well and I felt that this garment carried my mother's soul and her experiences." . The blue caftan from the film, embroidered by hand with mastery and delicacy, also carries some experiences that can help Morocco begin to dignify the reality of homosexual people.