Overview
Driven by questions about the place and role that women of Moroccan origin have played over the past 60 years in Belgium’s artistic and cultural circles, the singer Laïla Amezian sets out to find them. Who are these women? Where are they? How do they work to safeguard and pass on their musical heritage? Are they subject to stereotypes and gender discrimination, both in the professional sphere and within their own community? Drawing on the story of her mother, who dreamt of becoming a singer, Laïla seeks to bring these women out of the shadows through life stories and testimonies gathered with the help of ethnomusicologist Hélène Sechehaye.
This poetic investigative documentary follows the singer on her travels and her encounters with female musicians, and bears witness to their dream of bringing chaabi music to life in Belgium. Conceived as an intergenerational journey, it paints portraits of women who have received, passed on and reinterpreted this heritage, and who share their experiences and their worldview.
A documentary produced by HalfmOon as part of the Chaabi Habibi © project. With the support of te Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Department for the Promotion of Citizenship and Interculturalism, Flemish Community Commission – Heritage Unit, Equal Brussels – A nous l’Histoire.
Speakers
Hélène Sechehaye is a FRS/FNRS postdoctoral fellow attached to the Laboratoire de Musicologie at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (2023-2027) and a Visiting Researcher at the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge thanks to a Wiener-Anspach scholarship (2026). Her research focuses on musical productions within the Moroccan community in Belgium, and she currently studies ‘b&Բ;musical practices through the Chaabi Habibi project. Her first monograph Musiques gnawa à Bruxelles. Pratiques et formes rituelles en diaspora was published in 2024 by Vrin.
Laïla Amezian is a singer and project coordinator with the HalfmOon association. Since 2014, she has been leading the Chaabi Habibi project, which aims to promote music performed by women of Moroccan origin in Belgium through the organisation of events, artistic creation and support for musicians in their professional development. Laïla has been awarded a research grant from the Flemish Government - Department of Culture, to develop research on chaabi music in Belgium (2024-2026).
Details
This event is open to all and free to attend with no need to book.
Refreshments will be available for the audience.
Access
This event will take place in the Gatsby Room on the first floor of the Chancellor's Centre. It has step-free access with a lift and there is an accessible toilet located each floor of the building.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact our events team - events@wolfson.cam.ac.uk
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