FILM IN MOROCCOThe Place and the People
“What we know of foreign cultures is almost entirely communicated through the medium of popular cinema.”
Roger Ebert
AMERICAN PERCEPTIONS OF MOROCCO
FROM FILM
ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942)
CASABLANCA (1942)
FILMS MADE IN MOROCCO
THE ATLAS FILM STUDIOS
WHAT ATTRACTS WESTERN FILMMAKERS?
The Landscape The Weather The Support of the
Moroccan Government
Proximity to Western Countries
Budget-Friendly Filming Considerations
MOROCCAN FILM
THE STATE OF MOROCCAN FILM
Morocco produces about 15 major films a year
King Mohammed VI has relaxed censorship
Moroccan filmmakers can impose self-censorship
Pirated DVDs: Many Moroccan theatres have closed (100 still open)
New film school in Marrakesh
ALI ZAOUA: PRINCE OF THE STREETS
Released in 2000 A Moroccan crime
drama that tells the story of four homeless boys in Casablanca
Awarded the Bronze Horse 2000 Stockholm Film Festival and Winner of Montreal World Film Festival
NABIL AYOUCH, DIRECTOR
Born in Paris, spent formative years in Sarcelles
Trained in theatre Started film career
as a scriptwriter Early film Mektoub
(1997) was Morocco’s Academy Award entry
ALI ZAOUA: PRINCE OF THE STREETS
Paints a realistic portrait of impoverished modern Casablanca
Exposes the growing epidemic of orphaned children addicted to glue-sniffing
Uses several real homeless boys in key roles
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What scenic frames (mise-en-scene) convey the most powerful emotional landscapes of Casablanca?
What social and psychological obstacles are presented as antagonistic forces in the film’s plot?