The latest feature film by Nabil Ayouch, Everybody Loves Touda, has won two awards at the Critics' Awards for Arab Films, held alongside the Cannes Festival from May 13 to 24, 2025. The film received the Best Screenplay Award (Nabil Ayouch and Maryam Touzani) and the Best Actress Award (Nisrin Erradi), following its official selection last year and its designation as Morocco's entry for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category. «Morocco triumphs once again, just as it did two years ago when The Blue Caftan by Maryam Touzani also won significant awards», a statement noted, highlighting that Nabil Ayouch's film has earned recognition elsewhere. Notably, it received the Grand Prize and Best Actress Award in Valenciennes (France), the Best Actress Award at FESPACO (Burkina Faso), and further accolades in Malmö (Sweden). Screened at international festivals including Mill Valley and Palm Springs (United States), El Gouna (Egypt), Angoulême (France), and the FIFM in Marrakech (Morocco), Everybody Loves Touda is now rolling out internationally. After its Moroccan theatrical release in December 2024, it is currently showing in France, Belgium, and Switzerland, with initial releases underway in Sweden and Romania. In Germany, it will hit theaters starting May 29, alongside ongoing runs in Italy, Norway, and Denmark. In this film, Touda dreams of becoming a chikha. Every evening in the bars of her small provincial town, she sings ancient texts of resistance, love, and emancipation, hoping for a better future for herself and her son. She eventually decides to leave everything behind to live and shine in Casablanca. Balancing romance and poignant moments, Everybody Loves Touda offers a poetic mosaic exploring universal themes of love, family, and the quest for self. Besides Nisrin Erradi in the lead role, the cast includes Joud Chamihy and Jalila Talemsi, with guest appearances by Amine Ennaji, Abdellatif Chaouqi, Abderrahim Elmaniari, Mounia Lamkimel, and Abdelilah Rachid. Produced in Morocco by Ali'n Productions, in co-production with Les Films du Nouveau Monde (France), Velvet Films (Belgium), SnowGlobe (Denmark), Viking Film (Netherlands), and Staer (Norway), Everybody Loves Touda is sold internationally by MK2 International.
