Much Loved (2015)

Avec Loubna Abidar, Asmaa Lazrak, Halima Karaouane

Marrakech aujourd’hui. Noha, Randa, Soukaina, Hlima et les autres vivent d’amours tarifés. Ce sont des putes, des objets de désir. Les chairs se montrent, les corps s’exhibent et s’excitent, l’argent circule aux rythmes des plaisirs et des humiliations subies. Mais joyeuses et complices, dignes et émancipées dans leur royaume de femmes, elles surmontent la violence d’une société marocaine qui les utilise tout en les condamnant…

Much Loved (also known as Zin Li Fik) is a 2015 French-Moroccan drama film directed by Nabil Ayouch about the prostitution scene in Marrakesh. It was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film has been banned in Morocco for its "contempt for moral values and the Moroccan woman". It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. It is one of the first films to address the issue of prostitution in Morocco. Telling the lives of four female sex workers, it brings to the forefront the exploitation of prostitutes by pimps and the corruption of the police, that sometimes even profits from the trade. The film stirred a national debate before it was released when a few video clips were leaked on the web. Thereafter, the lead actress received death threats and religious authorities condemned the film for portraying a negative image of Morocco, with its supporting of extramarital sex and sympathy for homosexuals.