In Shariff Nasr’s electrifying LGBTQ drama El Houb (The Love), Moroccan-Dutch businessman Karim Zahwani (Fahd Larhzaoui) comes out to his conservative Muslim family to a backlash of silence and rejection. Stemming from an observation by Nasr about silence and a lack of confrontation in MENA communities, El Houb challenges the assumption that one must choose in these scenarios between family and sexuality. What could happen, he asks, when one fights for both?
Karim picks up that fight after his father Abbas (Slimane Dazi) discovers him with his secret Ghanaian boyfriend, Kofi (Emmanuel Boafo). Rather than ignore the circumstances, as Abbas and Karim’s mother Fatima (Lubna Azabal) would prefer to, Karim confronts them head-on. He locks himself in his family’s closet until his parents and brother (Sabri Saddik) talk to him and accept him for who he is.
The closet is a rather on-the-nose metaphor, but it’s how Nasr develops the space as a concept that makes the device truly intriguing. In this LGBTQ drama, the closet is a safe space in Karim’s childhood–where he waited for his dad to calm down after his bouts of anger–and a place where that sense of safety comes to clash with a sense of shame over hiding his identity. Although it’s where Karim ultimately confronts both his family and his own shame, the setting’s concept of hidden identity is more complex than something to be overcome.
The closet relates not only to the queer community in this way but to MENA communities as well. In this family’s small and conservative immigrant community, silence is preferable to stepping out of bounds. The Zahwani household is its own figurative closet (I get the feeling that every household in the neighborhood qualifies as such)–a private refuge from surrounding neighbors who might not accept a departure from the norm.
Karim’s journey to come out in a conservative MENA community characterizes El Houb as a moving LGBTQ drama. But the film will resonate deeply with anyone who has had to hide their identity for fear of judgment. In the stark hopefulness of the premise, however, Nasr refuses to acknowledge the frequent impossibility of reconciliation. Karim’s choice of both familial love and romantic love is a stalwart one. I’m not sure if that’s ultimately a disregard for the lived realities of queer people in similar situations—or if it’s a beacon of hope. In any case, El Houb makes compelling observations about silence, shame, family, and love. Highly recommended.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
Public libraries should purchase Shariff Nasr’s El Houb (The Love) for LGBTQ drama, narrative film, foreign language, and world cinema library shelves.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Sharif Nasr’s queer drama is a suitable title for LGBTQ library programming and international film clubs at the library.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
El Houb (The Love) would make a great addition to LGBTQ foreign film collections. Other Dark Star Pictures titles that fit the criteria include Petit Mal, Beyto, and Bliss.