Morocco has selected Nabil Ayouch’s drama Everybody Loves Touda as its submission to the Best International Feature Film category of the 97th Academy Awards.
The feature sees Ayouch explore the country’s tradition of Sheikhat, a type of sung poetry performed by female performers which has its roots in 19th century rural communities.
Once revered, these performers saw their status undermined amid the rural exodus of the 1970s, which saw them moving into bars and cabaret clubs.
Nisrin Erradi plays a young woman who with aspirations of reviving the once hallowed status of Sheikhat, but who finds herself instead performing in provincial bars under the gaze of lustful men.
Read more on deadline.com