Once again, music is at the heart of Nabil Ayouch’s latest movie. The French-Moroccan director’s 2021 feature Casablanca Beats, which had its premiere at Cannes, took audiences into a working-class neighbourhood in the Moroccan city as youngsters found self-expression through hip-hop.
Now he’s back with Everybody Loves Touda, a story of female empowerment that touches on traditional Moroccan music. Unveiled in the Cannes Premiere strand, this simple but touching drama is powered by Nisrin Erradi's terrific lead performance.
It begins in the provincial town of Sidi Bennour. Erradi plays Touda, a 35-year-old mother single-handedly raising her son Yassine (Joud Chamihy), who cannot hear or speak. Touda is tough and no-nonsense, even telling her boy how to deal with school bullies, by grabbing their testicles and squeezing them (it’s advice she’ll later put to good use when an over-friendly patron accosts her in a dingy bar that she frequents). Fiercely independent, her indifference to the married cop she’s having a casual fling with shows she has more on her mind than satisfying male egos.
Indeed, men are forever in her peripheral vision, causing pain and distress. In the very first scene, she's fleeing through the woods, attacked and abused. With this moment alone, Ayouch reveals that Touda’s journey won't be easy.
“Heal me from this pain, Lord,” she sings, at one point, words she takes greatly to heart. Her ambitions rest with music. A sheikha, she specialises in singing aita – the traditional folk music style that originates from rural Morocco.
Despite her vocal prowess, in the grim venues she performs in she’s treated like a second-class citizen. Desperate for her art to be recognised, Touda also knows that she must find a better future for her son. The callous teacher at his school suggests that, with his disability, he’d be better off leaving and learning a trade. “Without us, he’d be on the streets,” she says. But Touda knows better. “My son is smart,” she says. “He’s not like the other kids.”
So begins her search for a school that will accept her son, as she also attempts to further her career and find the funds to support him. After a sojourn to her parents’ rural dwelling, it’s a quest that takes her to Casablanca. There are touching scenes, like the game of hide and seek she plays with her boy, and touching friendships, too, including the old musician who tells her that “a sheikha masters the beat”. Others want her to sing upbeat pop, but Touda’s soul is defined by the mournful laments that make up aita music.
Co-written by Ayouch and his real-life partner Maryam Touzani (The Blue Caftan), Everybody Loves Touda is a euphoric watch, driven by Erradi, who handles the emotional heft of the film as competently as she manages the musical numbers. Ayouch crafts a feminist-leaning film where women have to fight to be heard; the frequent use of sign language, as Touda speaks with her son in gestures, also shows that the disenfranchised must find their own voice.
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With the film showing a fine contrast between urban and rural Morocco, Ayouch conveys a world where little is given away for free and dreams take guts and graft to realise.
But for all its hard knocks, Everybody Loves Touda has an upbeat curve to it. Without heading into spoiler territory, the final shot – as the camera tracks Touda into a lift – is pure perfection. A quietly triumphant moment, it allows Erradi to show what a soulful and skilful performer she is.
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
The%20specs
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3 (Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
HERO%20CUP%20TEAMS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cins%3EContinental%20Europe%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fins%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrancesco%20Molinari%20(c)%3Cbr%3EThomas%20Detry%3Cbr%3ERasmus%20Hojgaard%3Cbr%3EAdrian%20Meronk%3Cbr%3EGuido%20Migliozzi%3Cbr%3EAlex%20Noren%3Cbr%3EVictor%20Perez%3Cbr%3EThomas%20Pieters%3Cbr%3ESepp%20Straka%3Cbr%3EPlayer%20TBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cins%3EGreat%20Britain%20%26amp%3B%20Ireland%3C%2Fins%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ETommy%20Fleetwood%20(c)%3Cbr%3EEwen%20Ferguson%3Cbr%3ETyrrell%20Hatton%3Cbr%3EShane%20Lowry%3Cbr%3ERobert%20MacIntyre%3Cbr%3ESeamus%20Power%3Cbr%3ECallum%20Shinkwin%3Cbr%3EJordan%20Smith%3Cbr%3EMatt%20Wallace%3Cbr%3EPlayer%20TBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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How%20I%20connect%20with%20my%20kids%20when%20working%20or%20travelling
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Bio
Age: 25
Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah
Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering
Favourite colour: White
Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai
Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.
First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.
Match info
Karnataka Tuskers 110-3
J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16
Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs
K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Everybody%20Loves%20Touda
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