Ahmed Boulane – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Maryam Touzani talks CALLE MALAGA, Aging with Spirit and Personal Storytelling – Jennifer Green interviews

March 3, 2026March 6, 2026 Jennifer Green Ahmed Boulane, calle malaga, Carmen Maura, international oscars, María Alfonsa Rosso, Marta Etura, Maryam Touzani, Moroccan films, Nabil Ayouch

Tangier-born writer-actor-director Maryam Touzani says that with her new film Calle Malaga, she wanted to “celebrate the beauty of aging and the freedom that can come with aging.” The story turns on a 70-something woman, played by Spanish veteran Carmen Maura, who insists on remaining in her home in Tangier—against all odds. In doing so, she remakes her life, finds new love and reinforces her connections with her Moroccan roots, the place where she was born and raised as part of a Spanish immigrant community. The subject was personal for Touzani, whose own blended Moroccan-Spanish family gave inspiration for Calle Málaga.

Reviews

CALLE MALAGA – Review by Jennifer Green

February 19, 2026February 20, 2026 Jennifer Green Ahmed Boulane, calle malaga, Carmen Maura, international oscars, María Alfonsa Rosso, Marta Etura, Maryam Touzani, Moroccan films, Nabil Ayouch

Calle Málaga is a warm and surprising tale about aging, family and sense of place. Veteran Carmen Maura stars as an elderly Spanish woman, raised as part of an immigrant community in Tangier, Morocco, who steadfastly refuses to spend her sunset years doing anything other than living the life she desires. She is a quiet yet determined 70-something heroine. Tangier-born director Maryam Touzani, who co-wrote the script with regular collaborator Nabil Ayouch, has constructed a nuanced and sensitive film that infuses its story, star and setting with layers of meaning.

Reviews

CALLE MALAGA – Review by Lynn Venhaus

January 28, 2026February 2, 2026 Lynn Venhaus Ahmed Boulane, calle malaga, Carmen Maura, María Alfonsa Rosso, Marta Etura, Maryam Touzani, Moroccan films, Nabil Ayouch

Films about final acts are often divided into sweet or sour, spirited or sad, and Calle Malaga is a stimulating blend of both, for Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani starts with a negative but flips it into a positive. Inspired by her grandmother (and dedicated to her), Touzani co-wrote this warm and tender drama with her husband, filmmaker Nabil Ayouch. Their exploration of a simple, gentle life cycle is invigorated by the expressive Spanish actress Carmen Maura. As the vibrant 79-year-old widow, Maria Angeles Munoz, Maura commands the screen like a maestra seizing a baton.