Fiery and capricious, small-town chanteuse Touda (a tour-de-force performance by Nisrin Erradi, who made a striking debut in co-writer Maryam Touzani’s Adam) dreams of only one thing: being a Sheikha, a respected traditional Moroccan performer empowered by the lyrics of the fierce female poets who came before her, with their songs of resistance, love and emancipation. Tired of performing every evening in provincial bars under the lustful gaze of the watching men, Touda sets 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 hearing-impaired son. Amidst a hypnotic soundscape of Moroccan music, newcomer Erradi portrays a vibrant woman and mother in a narrative pitched between musical and social issue drama. Despite their broken wings, Nabil Ayouch’s heroines always aspire to fly and to find freedom. –AS