The history of the cinema of Morocco dates back to "The Moroccan Goatherd" by Louis Lumière in 1897. During the French protectorate, films were produced and directed by French filmmakers, and in 1952, Orson Welles directed his Othello in the historic city of Essaouira. Since independence in 1956, Moroccan film directors developed the national film industry. Emergence in the 1970s met with growing international success.
History
Cinema in Morocco has a long history, stretching back over a century to the filming of Le chèvrier Marocain ("The Moroccan Goatherd") by Louis Lumière in 1897. Between that time and 1944, many foreign movies were shot in the country, especially in the Ouarzazate area.
In the first half of the 20th century, Casablanca had many movie theaters, such as Cinema Rialto, Cinema Lynx and Cinema Vox—the largest in Africa at the time it was built.[6][7][8]
In 1944, the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM), the nation's film regulatory body, was established. Studios were also opened in Rabat.
Salut Casa! (1952) was a propaganda film brandishing France's purported colonial triumph in its civilizing mission in the city.[9]
In 1968, the first Mediterranean Film Festival of Morocco was held in Tangier. In its current editions, the event is held in Tetouan.[11] This festival was followed in 1982 with the first national festival of cinema, which was held in Rabat. In 2001, the International Film Festival of Marrakech (FIFM) started its yearly festival in Marrakech.
In his book La septième porte (The Seventh Door), the poet, novelist and filmmaker Ahmed Bouanani (1938-2011) retraces 24 years of Moroccan film history. As described by literary critic and publisher Kenza Sefrioui, who edited Bouanani's personal history of cinema in Morocco, the author "recounts scenarios, he details the atmosphere of the scenes, he attests to reception, and he presents himself as an often ironic, sometimes humorous commentator, in dialogue with his reader."[21]
Film industry in Morocco
Directors
A first generation of directors made film in Morocco in the 1970s-1990s and developed the film industry in Morocco. Notable film makers are Hamid Bénani (Wechma, Traces, 1970), Souheil Ben Barka (Les Mille et une Mains, 1974), Moumen Smihi (El Chergui ou le Silence violent, 1975), Ahmed El Maânouni (Alyam, Alyam, 1978 ; Transes (Al Hal), 1981; Les Cœurs brûlés, 2007), Jilali Ferhati (Poupées de roseau, 1981; La Plage des enfants perdus, 1991), Mustapha Derkaoui (Les Beaux Jours de Shéhérazade, 1982) ; Farida Benlyazid (Une porte sur le ciel, 1988), Saâd Chraïbi (Chronique d'une vie normale, 1990), Mohamed Abderrahmane Tazi (Badis, 1989 ; À la recherche du mari de ma femme, 1993), Abdelkader Lagtaâ (Un amour à Casablanca, 1992 ; La Porte close, 1998), Hakim Noury (Le Marteau et l'Enclume, 1990), Hassan Benjelloun (La Fête des autres, 1990)
Since roughly the year 2000, a younger generation of Moroccan filmmakers has been taking over. Some of its prominent names are:
Laïla Marrakchi (her first full-length feature film, Marock, produced in 2004 was nominated at the Festival de Cannes 2005 in the category "Un certain regard").
The Moroccan Cinematographic Centre (Centre cinématographique marocain) is a public institution under the Ministry of Culture for the promotion, distribution and projection of movies in Morocco. Most other organisations related to films and cinemas are grouped into business chambers or trade unions, for example the National Federation of Film Clubs or the National Chamber of Film Producers.
^"Ouarzazate". Institut Spécialisé dans les Métiers du Cinéma - OFPPT (in French). 27 March 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
Further reading
Ahmed Bouanani, La septième porte. Une histoire du cinéma au Maroc de 1907 à 1986. Kulte Editions, 2021, 336 p. (in French)
Kevin Dwyer, "Morocco: A National Cinema with Large Ambitions" in: Josef Gugler (ed.) Film in the Middle East and North Africa: Creative Dissidence, University of Texas Press and American University in Cairo Press, 2011, ISBN978-0-292-72327-6, ISBN978-9-774-16424-8, pp 325-348
Cinema CineMa Cinema of Asia Cinema of Iran Cinema Novo Kashmiri cinema Cinéma vérité Cinema of Cuba Cinema of Israel Apple Cinema Display ByTowne Cinema Balochi cinema Free Cinema Cinema of Africa Outdoor cinema Third Cinema Dogri cinema Piccadilly Cinema Nagpuri cinema List of cinema of the world Cinema of Palestine Cinema of Brazil Cinema of Algeria Cinema Rex fire Urgoo Cinema Cinema of Yugoslavia World cinema Cinema of Europe Cinema of Argentina Secret Cinema Cinema of Moldova Cinema of Armenia Cinema of Taiwan Cinema of Germany Telugu cinema Cinema of Colombia Norwich Cinema City Cine…
ma Paradiso Pashto cinema Cinema of Rajasthan Kannada cinema Marathi cinema Cinema of Latin America Cinema of Italy Cinema of Bihar Cinema of the Middle East Cinema of Croatia Cinema of Mongolia Sindhi cinema Cinema of Azerbaijan Cinema of France Cinema of Belgium Cinema of Pakistan Bengali cinema Cinema of Nepal Cinema of Bangladesh Cinema of China No wave cinema New queer cinema Cinema of Sweden L'Idéal Cinéma Jacques Tati Wallis Cinemas Cinema of Malaysia Creation Cinema Punjabi cinema Amouda cinema Cinema of India Tulu cinema General Cinema Canyon Cinema Assamese cinema Azadi Cinema Complex Odeon Cinemas Paradise Cinema (Kolkata) Kokborok Cinema Cinema of Poland Cinema of Venezuela Cinema of the Philippines Cinema of Mexico Cinema of Myanmar Taiwan New Cinema Malaysian Tamil cinema Cinema of Serbia Roxy Cinema (Kolkata) Cinema of the Czech Republic Cahiers du Cinéma Cinema of Bolivia Cinema of East Asia Hindi cinema Bhojpuri cinema Cinema of Turkey Malayalam cinema Cinema of Ukraine Digital cinema Cinema of Romania ABC Cinema, Wakefield Ritz Cinema Castle Cinema Cinema of South India Cinema X Haryanvi cinema Cinema of Maldives Cinema of Indonesia Cinema of Spain Cinema of Ca