Maroc, au coeur des traditions

L'Orientalisme

August 2019 •French

Orientalism is a literary and artistic movement born in Western Europe in the 18th century. Through its scale and popularity, throughout the 19th century, it marked the interest and curiosity of artists and writers for the countries of the West (the Maghreb) or the Levant (the Middle East). Orientalism was born from the fascination of the Ottoman Empire and followed its slow disintegration and the progression of European colonizations. This exotic trend is associated with all the artistic movements of the 19th century, academic, romantic, realistic or even impressionist. It is present in architecture, music, painting, literature, poetry... Picturesque aesthetics, confusing styles, civilizations and eras, orientalism has created numerous clichés and clichés that we still find today in literature or cinema.

Morocco from Above

June 2017 •French

Yann Arthus-Bertrand flew over Morocco with his cameras and asked the journalist Ali Baddou to write and record the comment.

Le parcours d'un roi - Le Maroc de Mohammed VI

October 2024 •French

On July 30, 2024, Mohamed VI celebrates the 25th anniversary of his reign in style. Who is this so-called secret monarch? How did he gradually impose his vision and projects?

Casablanca, les enfants du bitume

November 2009 •French

There are at least seven thousand children and adolescents wandering the streets of Morocco's economic capital. Sold by their parents, abused, beaten, or abandoned, they struggle to survive. Since 1995, the Bayti association has been fighting to reintegrate these sacrificed children and give them a second chance.

Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine

October 2014 •English

An intimate portrait of Matthew Shepard, the gay young man murdered in one of the most notorious hate crimes in U.S. history. Framed through a personal lens, it's the story of loss, love, and courage in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

About Some Meaningless Events

January 1974 •Arabic

In search of a subject for their film, a group of directors ask passers-by about their expectations of Moroccan cinema in the streets and bars of Casablanca.

Children of Wool

Invalid date •English

Shot on location in a very remote part of southern Morocco, this short film looks into the amazing craftsmanship and dedication of the Berber rug weavers in the region. These incredibly talented people are part of an ancient tradition that still employs centuries-old techniques to produce beautiful and unique handwoven rugs.

Furias

December 2023 •Spanish

Romancero marroquí

July 1939 •Spanish

The young farmer Aalami leaves his family to find work elsewhere. He gets to know the country and its people, customs and traditions at Küste in North Africa: Market life in Tetuan, the art of craftsmanship, the life of the Moors, dances and festivities in honour of the caliph, white mosques, the call of the muezzin of the minaret and the music of the shepherd flutes. Aalami also follows Franco's call and flies from Morocco to Spain to fight at Bürgerkrieg. In the end Aalami comes back to his wife and children.

Echoes Of The Heart

March 2024 •English

ECHOES OF THE HEART IS THE FIRST SHORT FILM OF ECHOES TRILOGY THAT FOLLOWS SOUHAIL'S MUSIC PASSION IN PLAYING OUD IN A SMALL CITY.

Zwaj El Waqt

April 2017 •Arabic

Zwaj El Waqt explores the themes of love and marriage in Morocco. Told through the testimonies of diverse couples, it tackles the issues of relationships, social media, control and sexuality in a conservative society that still struggles to discuss freely about those topics.

Mohammed VI - The Limits of Power

November 2022 •French

Twenty-third sovereign of the Alawite dynasty established in Morocco since the seventeenth century, Mohammed VI took over from his father Hassan II in 1999, and from the moment of his coronation, he positioned himself as a "king of the poor", close to the people. Naturally shy, he prefers to act rather than speak, defining a modern style of governance that has earned him great popularity from the start. Married to a young computer engineer, he asserted a policy of liberalization of morals and even made a critical review of the period of repression led by his father during the years of lead. However, he faces opposition from conservatives, which leads to the election of the Islamist PJD (Party of Justice and Development) as head of government, following the Arab Spring of 2011.

Ein Vater im Alleingang

September 1999 •German

After his daughter is contaminated with an unknown poison gas and put into an induced coma, her father, a sports reporter, starts his own research to obtain a sample of the gas so that an antidote can be developed. The trail leads to Morocco, but a powerful organization tries to stop the father's efforts.

Trances

January 1982 •Arabic

A portrait of the groundbreaking Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane, documenting a series of electrifying live performances in Tunisia, Morocco, and France; on the streets of Casablanca; and in intimate conversations. Storytellers through song and traditional instruments, and with connections to political theatre, the band became a local phenomenon and an international sensation, thanks to their rebellious lyrics and sublime, fully acoustic sound, which draws on Berber rhythms, Malhun sung poetry, and Gnawa dances.

Break Free - Two People. Two Years. One Dream

March 2019 •German

When Lena and Ulli start the engine of their old Land Rover, Lady Terés, they have a plan: to drive from Hamburg to South Africa in six months. What they don't know yet is that they won't ever get there. Two totally different characters, jammed together in two square meters of space for almost two years, they experience what it really means to travel: leaving your comfort zone for good.

Furias

June 2023 •Spanish

School of Hope

December 2020 •Arabic

In the vast expanse of desert East of Atlas Mountains in Morocco, seasonal rain and snow once supported livestock, but now the drought seems to never end. Hardly a blade of grass can be seen, and families travel miles on foot to get water from a muddy hole in the ground. Yet the children willingly ride donkeys and bicycles or walk for miles across rocks to a "school of hope" built of clay. Following both the students and the teachers in the Oulad Boukais Tribe's community school for over three years, SCHOOL OF HOPE shows students Mohamed, Miloud, Fatima, and their classmates, responding with childish glee to the school's altruistic young teacher, Mohamed. Each child faces individual obstacles - supporting their aging parents; avoiding restrictions from relatives based on traditional gender roles - while their young teacher makes do in a house with no electricity or water.

Off Sides

July 2019 •Czech

When the junior ice hockey team from the small town of Náchod, in the Czech Republic, sets off in a bus to Morocco to play the away game in an exchange programme, the players and their coach expect an easy victory and a cultural shock: “bring ear plugs”, the coach suggests them with a touch of undisguised condescendence, so as not to hear the call to prayer early in the morning. Both on and off the ice, Rozálie Kohoutová and Tomáš Bojar’s camera focuses on a few teenagers and their exchanges, simultaneously funny and cruel, in a clumsy English.

Straight Stories, Part 1

January 2006 •French

Somewhere between documentary and fiction, this is an essay on questions of territory and human displacements made during an excursion from southern Spain to northern Morocco. Travelling on the Mediterranean rim, we hear immigrants tell their stories.

La Vie sans Brahim

January 2003 •French