Irrepressible Touda only dreams of one thing: being a Sheikha, a respected traditional Moroccan performer. Now she performs every evening in provincial bars under the lustful gaze of men, Touda plans to set her sights on leaving her small village for the bright lights of Casablanca where she hopes to be recognized as a true artist and also secure a better future for her and her son.

Everybody Loves Touda follows Touda, a single mother raising her hearing-impaired son, as she struggles to fulfill her dream of becoming a Sheikha, a singer of Aïta, a traditional women's oral music rooted in the plains of 19th century Morocco. Rather than following the familiar coming-of-age formula of a naturally gifted artist, the film highlights the vitality and violence embedded in Moroccan music and dance, which reflect a society still dominated by the male gaze. The close-ups of Nisrin Erradi, who plays Touda, become a powerful metonym for the Moroccan women who created and sang Aïta, longing for freedom and liberation. (Lee Nara)