Official submission of Morocco for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 95th Academy Awards in 2023.
Screenwriter and director Maryam Touzani says that the project was born from an encounter with a ladies' hairdresser in Salé: "The character of Halim started to build through what I imagined of this man's life. He awakened in me things that I knew in my life, when I was a child. I remembered all those things that were said without being said, whispered, about couples we knew from afar...At the time I didn't understand, but over time yes, and I wanted to put a face on this unsaid, to finally be able to say things." She co-wrote the screenplay with her companion, the director, Nabil Ayouch.
The director says: "While writing the character of Mina, I pictured the face of Lubna Azabal in my mind. We also find in the casting Saleh Bakri who plays Halim and who is a Palestinian comedian. Finally, the young apprentice is portrayed [by] Ayoub Missioui, a young man from Casablanca."
The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
The shooting was done with director of photography Virginie Surdej, who has already worked with Maryam Touzani on her previous film, Adam.