Director Nabil Ayouch on the 7-Minute Single Shot in His Moroccan Oscar Entry, ‘Everybody Loves Touda’

As a follower and film enthusiast with a keen interest in Moroccan cinema, I must say that Nabil Ayouch‘s latest masterpiece, “Everybody Loves Touda,” is nothing short of a cinematic triumph. Having lived between Paris and Casablanca myself, I can truly appreciate the authenticity and raw emotion that this film portrays.

Following the trailblazing success of his 2021 film “Casablanca Beats,” which became the first Moroccan feature to compete for a Palme d’Or at Cannes, director Nabil Ayouch (known for “Much Loved”) is reaching another significant achievement with his new production, “Everybody Loves Touda.” This film had its debut at Cannes Premiere and now qualifies in all categories for the Oscars. It’s a historical first for Moroccan cinema as it’s the first to do so.

The film titled ‘Everybody Loves Touda,’ authored by Ayouch along with his wife Maryam Touzani (known for ‘The Blue Caftan’), narrates the tale of Nisrin Erradi, a young poetess and singer in Morocco known as Shaeirat. She resides in a tiny village with her deaf-mute son, striving to provide him a brighter future by relocating to Casablanca. However, she encounters hardships there. Prior to filming ‘Everybody Loves Touda,’ Erradi spent a year and a half preparing for the role. She was trained by three Shaeirats to perfect her singing, dancing, speech, and movement to ensure authenticity, as stated by Ayouch, who splits his time between Paris and Casablanca.

One of the most striking moments in the movie unfolds as an extended, nearly eight-minute sequence filmed atop Casablanca’s tallest tower by director Ayouch. This scene resembles a graceful dance choreography, with Touda stepping out of a taxi and making her way into the towering building, ascending thirty floors in an elevator that offers breathtaking views of the city. Upon reaching the stage, she commences a captivating performance before an enormous audience of 150 extras.

Ayouch describes the scene as the most difficult one he’s encountered in his career, requiring three months for preparation and approximately 12 hours for filming. Speaking about his cinematic influences, Ayouch references a remarkable single-shot sequence in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” where mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and his wife Karen enter the Copacabana club. On a technical level, he finds this scene captivating because it resembles a ballet, with its intricate choreography as they enter through the backdoor, move through the kitchens, and finally appear in the ballroom, passing waiters, tables, and the camera revolving around them before refocusing on the characters. Emotionally, his inspiration was Gena Rowlands in “A Woman Under the Influence.

Speaking as a movie critic, I must admit that the production of “Everybody Loves Touda” presented a unique challenge: the elevator was minuscule and lacked any city views, which I yearned to capture since this tower is the highest in Casablanca, our very own Twin Center. The director, Ayouch, expressed his desire to showcase the city from this vantage point, but the elevator’s limited vista posed a problem.

According to Ayouch, Tao began at the base of the tower and ascended directly, much like flying, all the way to the top. There, he embedded those images onto a green backdrop, mirroring precisely what one would observe from an elevator ride with a window.

According to the director, he didn’t aim for a technical achievement, but rather considered this final segment of the movie as a symbolic story or lesson, reflecting the movie’s main ideas and Touda’s mental condition.

As a movie critic, I found myself deeply immersed in the creative process behind a particular scene, as director Ayouch elucidated his vision. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the intensity and authenticity of an actress’s emotion throughout a specific sequence: from her exit from the cab, her stroll through the lobby, her ride in the elevator, her performance on stage, and her subsequent return to earthbound. This continuous flow was crucial for him, as it allowed him to capture the essence of the scene’s climax – the descent of the elevator – by focusing intently on the actress’s face from a close proximity.

Besides the 150 additional team members, there were 80 technicians involved, each supervising one of six distinct sets. This meant that a significant number of people and resources were required that particular night. Moreover, this was an extremely costly shot, not just in execution, but also during preparation as it took us three months to prepare for it. However, the allure of cinema lies in such moments when, despite being told it’s technically impossible, one can envision a utopia and eventually convince everyone that it is indeed possible and we shall make it happen. This was the case here according to Ayouch.

The team commenced preparing for the shoot at midday, intending to start filming around 6 p.m., wrapping up at approximately 6:30 a.m. the following morning. As the sun began to peek over the horizon at 6 a.m., Ayouch understood that they had a brief window to capture the scene. With the shoot drawing to a close, it started drizzling, which in Morocco is regarded as a fortunate omen, according to Ayouch. “When I saw the rain, I was like ‘What the Fetch’, we didn’t need this now, I was asking for an umbrella, I hadn’t even considered the symbol; but when Nisrin stepped out of the taxi and looked up at the sky, a single drop of rain trickled down her face. It was quite emotional and ultimately it did bring us luck.” The 12th take was the one that made it into the final cut.

As a dedicated cinephile, I proudly share that my production house, Ali n’Productions, collaborated with Les Films du Nouveau Monde, Velvet Films, Snowglobe, Viking Films, and Staer to bring “Everybody Loves Touda” to life on the big screen. This heartwarming film is globally represented by MK2 Films, while Ad Vitam handles its distribution in France.

Similar to Ayouch’s past works like “Much Loved” and “Razzia”, the film “Everybody Loves Touda” carries a feminist perspective.

Ayouch explains that he was brought up by a single mother, which influenced his portrayal of strong, self-reliant female characters in his films. He expresses a desire to depict women as warriors rather than victims in his work, a theme evident in ‘Much Loved,’ ‘Razzia,’ and now ‘Everybody Loves Touda.’ This region has encouraged this perspective in him.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at that long single-shot scene in “Everybody Loves Touda:”

2024-11-21 22:49

Director Nabil Ayouch on the 7-Minute Single Shot in His Moroccan Oscar Entry, ‘Everybody Loves Touda’

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