A tailor wrestles with his sexuality in this deeply felt film about the many forms that love can take within and outside a marriage.

Middle-aged Halim (Saleh Bakri, Wajib, MIFF 2018, and also starring in MIFF 70 film Costa Brava, Lebanon) and Mina (Lubna Azabal, Incendies) run a small caftan shop in Salé, Morocco. Halim, a master tailor who learned his trade from his father, prefers to sew and embroider his exquisite creations by hand – the traditional way. Husband and wife frequently argue about deadlines and money, but their relationship faces a new challenge when Halim, who regularly has sex with men at the local bathhouse, takes on a young apprentice: the handsome and enthusiastic Youssef.

Premiering in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Maryam Touzani’s (Adam, MIFF 2019) second feature is a tenderly observed tale that takes a seemingly simple conceit – a man, whose wife is terminally ill, finds a lover – and develops it in surprising and unexpected ways. The intimacy of the story’s unusual love triangle is captured through sensual cinematography by Virginie Surdej and brought to life via three equally mesmerising, emotionally mature performances. The Blue Caftan is that rare thing: a film from northern Africa that explores queer themes with subtlety, humanity and complexity.

“A film of exquisite sensuality and sadness … with transfixing delicacy and restraint.” – Hollywood Reporter