Nabil Ayouch (born 1 April 1969) is a Franco-Moroccan television and film director, producer, and writer. His films have screened at international film festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and Montreal World Film Festival.
Early life
Ayouch was born in 1969 in Paris, to a Moroccan father, Noureddine Ayouch [fr] and a French mother of Tunisian-Jewish descent. His brother is fellow director Hicham Ayouch. After his parents' divorce, he spent a large part of his childhood in the suburb of Sarcelles,[1][2] visiting Casablanca in the summers.[3]
Ayouch cites discovering international cinema at the local cultural centre, Forum des Cholettes, as inspiring his filmmaking career.[3]
Film career
Ayouch started his career as a scriptwriter and director with the advertising agency Euro-RSCG. In 1992, he directed Les Pierres bleues du désert, a first short film with Jamel Debbouze which tells the history of a young man convinced that there are large blue stones in the desert.
In 1993, Ayourch ended up settling in Casablanca, where he directed two short films, Hertzienne Connexion (1993) and Vendeur de silence (1994), for which he received international recognition.
In 1997, Ayouch directed his first feature film Mektoub, which represented Morocco at the Oscars. He also directed the feature films Une Minute de soleil en moins (2003) and Whatever Lola Wants (2008), produced by Pathé.[4]
In 1999, Ayouch created a production company called Ali n'Productions to aid aspiring young directors in establishing their careers.[1][5][4] He won the Ecumenical Award in 2000 in the Montreal World Film Festival for his film Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets.[6] Ayouch is set to produce the French-Moroccan thriller film Mirages.[7]
Ayouch's film Much Loved, which takes place in Marrakesh, caused a stir due to its unsimulated sex scenes especially the scene where Loubna Abidar performed an unsimulated fellatio on a man.[11]
The movie was ultimately banned in Morocco.[12]
Jonathan Smolin, "Nabil Ayouch: Transgression, Identity, and Difference" in: Josef Gugler (ed.), Ten Arab Filmmakers: Political Dissent and Social Critique, Indiana University Press, 2015, ISBN978-0-253-01644-7, pp 214–244
