''Much Loved'' (also known as ''Zin Li Fik'') is a 2015 French-Moroccan

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Nabil Ayouch Nabil Ayouch (born 1 April 1969) is a Franco-Moroccan television and film director, producer, and writer. His films have been screened at international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and Montreal World Film Festival. Early li ...

about the prostitution scene in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

. It was screened in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

section at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2015. Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel Coen were the Co-Presidents of the Jury for the main competition, marking the first time that two people co-chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers ...

. The film has been banned in Morocco for alleged "contempt for moral values and the Moroccan woman". It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the

2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and N ...

. It is one of the first films to address the issue of

prostitution in Morocco Although prostitution in Morocco has been illegal since the 1970s it still exists. In 2015 the Moroccan Health Ministry estimated there were 50,000 prostitutes in Morocco, the majority in the Marrakech area. Prostitutes tend to be Moroccan women ...

. Following the lives of four female sex workers, it brings to the forefront the exploitation of prostitutes by pimps, and the corruption of the police who sometimes even profit from the trade. The film stirred a national debate before it was released when rushes were stolen and leaked on the web. The lead actress received

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

s, and religious authorities condemned the film for portraying a negative image of Morocco, with its portrayals of extramarital sex and sympathetic views towards homosexuals.

Cast

* Loubna Abidar as Noha * Asmaa Lazrak as Randa * Halima Karaouane as Soukaina * Sara Elmhamdi Elalaoui as Hlima * Abdellah Didane as Said * Danny Boushebel as Ahmad

Production

Loubna Abidar deceived the filmmaker

during the casting process, going so far as to disguise herself as a prostitute to pass the casting.

Accolades

References

External links

* 2015 films 2010s erotic drama films 2010s Arabic-language films Films about prostitution in Morocco French erotic drama films Moroccan drama films Films directed by Nabil Ayouch 2015 drama films French LGBTQ-related films 2015 LGBTQ-related films Best French-Language Film Lumières Award winners 2010s French films {{Morocco-film-stub