Whatever Lola Wants: Ayouch film stresses East-West cultural dialogue

2008-05-05

Following the success of Maktoub and Ali Zaoua, director Nabil Ayouch is back with a new feature film. "Whatever Lola Wants", which uses the story of an American girl in Cairo to discuss "culture clashes" and tolerance, is garnering raves in Morocco and abroad.

By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca – 05/05/08

[tribecafilmfestival.org] Nabil Ayouch's film "Whatever Lola Wants" gives an example of one of the many positive cultural interactions between East and West.

Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch's long-awaited feature film "Whatever Lola Wants" opened internationally in late April, drawing both critical acclaim and brisk ticket sales for its message of potential East-West accord. The view of the East in western societies convinced Ayouch of the need to extol the virtues of tolerance, respect for others and humanist universalism.

Eight years after his hit "Ali Zaoua" and more than a decade since "Maktoub", the celebrated director chose to return to the big screen with a movie highlighting cultural co-existence. In Whatever Lola Wants, a young woman who is passionate about belly dancing discovers the importance of learning about others and having respect for different identities.

Lola is a 25-year-old American living in New York. Her best friend is a gay Egyptian named Youssef who moved to the same city so that he could live the life he wanted. In the restaurant where Youssef works, Lola meets Zack, another Egyptian. They begin a relationship, but Zack leaves Lola and returns to Cairo after recognising the cultural differences which separate them.

Having fallen head over heels in love with Zack, Lola impulsively decides to follow him. When she arrives in Cairo, however, she is disappointed by Zack’s attitude and the cold reception she receives from his family. The young American then decides to find the famous Egyptian dancer, Ismahane. Their meeting, which turns the women's lives upside down and shatters their prejudices, is the moment of reconciliation and dialogue between cultures which defines the movie.

"I don’t believe for one second in the concept of the clash of civilisations," Nabil Ayouch said at the film's Casablanca premiere on April 22nd.

"In my opinion there’s a clash of prejudices, misunderstandings and incomprehension between eastern and western societies," he added. "It’s because we’re different that we have a lot to talk about." To this end, Ayouch believes that people need to "focus on the human aspect".

"Whatever Lola Wants" is drawing accolades from all over the world. The feature film, in French cinemas since April 16th, sold an estimated 30,000 tickets in less than a week.

The film made its United States premiere last week at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. According to Ayouch, people who have watched the film in the United States said that it made them want to travel to the Arab world and learn more about it.

Moroccan viewers are praising the film’s quality and the professionalism of the technical and artistic direction. "Whatever Lola Wants" does Moroccan cinema a great service, 33-year-old Khalid enthusiastically told Magharebia.

"I congratulate Nabil Ayouch on this film, which portrays a human and peaceful theme," he said.

His friend Zhour agreed: "It’s a must-see film because it offers a peaceful and humane solution to the problem of co-existence between the cultures of the East and West."