Dir. Maryam Touzani
2022 | 122 mins | France, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark
Arabic with English subtitles
Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Massioui

SHOWING TIMES:

• Sat 27 May: 8.10pm
• Sun 28 May: 7.45pm
• Tue 30 May: 2.30pm
• Wed 31 May: 8.10pm

Writer-director Maryam Touzani’s follow-up to her acclaimed 2019 debut Adam, The Blue Caftan is a rich, complex, slow-burn drama that screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year.

Halim (Saleh Bakri) and Mina (Lubna Azabal) run a caftan shop in the historic Salé medina, producing exquisitely finished hand-sewn garments. Married for some time, their union nevertheless contains a secret which must be kept quiet in a strictly conservative country like Morocco, and when new circumstances (including the arrival of a young apprentice) arise, so too do new emotional challenges that threaten to upset the careful calibration of their lives.

Crafted with elegant economy, Touzani’s film is sensual, thoughtful and intensely moving, navigating the melancholy of the film’s central situations with a keen and authentic eye for physical and emotional details and the intricacies of individual relationships. Brilliantly acted, it is an overwhelmingly tender character study and an investigation into a country’s relationship with tradition and modernity.

The screening on Saturday 27 May at 8.10pm will include an exclusive pre-recorded Q&A with filmmaker Maryam Touzani, brought to you by #ReclaimTheFrame.

Reclaim the Frame brings a broader perspective of the world by championing cinema by women & non-binary filmmakers. Run by Birds’ Eye View, a charity with a mission to advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in film by fostering a community for those who make, show, release and watch them.

To learn more, become an Advocate and join the #ReclaimTheFrame mission to receive free cinema tickets and discount codes go to Bit.ly/BEVRTF. Supported by BFI’s Audience Fund.

VENUE: EXETER PHOENIX, STUDIO 74

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>