Morocco's Islamist party urges ban of award-winning film for 'promoting homosexuality'

Morocco's Islamist party has called for a ban on the award-winning Moroccan movie "The Blue Caftan" from screening in national cinemas over its alleged "promotion of homosexuality" and "violating" the country's religious morals.

"The General Secretariat denounces allowing a film that promotes homosexuality to be screened in Moroccan cinemas, in a grave violation of the religious, national, and moral values ​​of the Moroccan Muslim people," the Islamist party of Justice and Development Party (PJD) added in a press release on Friday.

Directed by Maryam Touzani, "The Blue Caftan" depicts the story of Halim, a tailor at a traditional shop in a Moroccan medina that he runs with his ailing wife, Mina. While Halim works lovingly and painstakingly with his wife, the couple lives with the secret of his homosexuality – something Mina has come to accept yet still generates an occasional stab of jealousy within her.

The movie follows the dynamic between the couple and Youssef, a new apprentice who joins them at the shop.

The PJD has called on the authorities "to prohibit the screening of the film, in accordance with the law in force, adopted in May 2015."

This legal framework, adopted under the PJD's government at the time, served as a basis to censor "a movie by the same party, known for its hostile tendencies to the constants and the sacredness of the nation," added the party's press release.

The Islamist party refers to "Much Loved" by director Nabil Ayouch, who is also the producer of "The Blue Caftan" and Touzani's husband.

Despite the controversy, the avant-premier of "The Blue Caftan" on 4 June witnessed the attendance of various public figures, including senior advisor to King Mohammed VI Andre Azoulay, among others.

Since 7 June, the film has been screened in cinemas in Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier. 

However, its screening has triggered different reactions among the Moroccan public.

Many viewers took to social media to voice their disappointment in the "scandalous" concept behind the movie, joining the PJD in their request to ban the film from the country's cinemas.

Homosexuality is still a taboo and a crime in Morocco. Article 489 of the Penal Code of Morocco criminalises "lewd or unnatural acts with an individual of the same sex."

Nevertheless, pro-LGBTQ+ movements in the country are getting louder and bolder in defending the community's rights, and the screening of "The Blue Caftan", they argue, is a step forward in the community's fight for visibility.

"Screening a movie about the LGBTQ community in the country's cinemas is definitely a win for us and the result of a long struggle against homophobia. We hope that its screening will continue," Safae, a member of the LGBTQ+ community in Morocco, told TNA.

Amid the controversy over the film, "The Blue Caftan" received the International Critics' Prize at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival and the Jury's Prize at the Marrakech International Film Festival.