Cinema of Morocco


The cinema of Morocco dates back to "The Moroccan Goatherd" by Louis Lumière in 1897.

History

Cinema in Morocco has a long history, stretching back over a century to the filming of Le chevrier Marocain by Louis Lumière in 1897. Between that time and 1944, many foreign movies were shot in the country, especially in the Ouarzazate area.
In 1944, the Moroccan Cinematographic Center, the nation's film regulatory body, was established. Studios were also opened in Rabat.
In 1952, Orson Welles' Othello won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival under the Moroccan flag. However, the Festival's musicians did not play the Moroccan national anthem, as no one in attendance knew what it was. Six years later, Mohammed Ousfour would create the first Moroccan movie, Le fils maudit.
In 1968, the first Mediterranean Film Festival was held in Tangier. In its current incarnation, the event is held in Tetouan. This was followed in 1982 with the first national festival of cinema, which was held in Rabat. In 2001, the first International Film Festival of Marrakech was also held in Marrakech.

Film industry in Morocco

Directors

Morocco has known a first generation of directors in the 70s-90s. They participated to the development of film industry in Morocco.
Notable film makers are Hamid Bénani, Souheil Ben Barka, Moumen Smihi, Ahmed El Maânouni, Jilali Ferhati, Mustapha Derkaoui ; Farida Benlyazd, Saâd Chraïbi, Mohamed Abderrahmane Tazi, Abdelkader Lagtaâ, Hakim Noury, Hassan Benjelloun
More recently and since the year 2000 a new and younger generation are taking over.

Living in Morocco

Living in abroad (mainly France)

National structure

Union and professional organizations

The Moroccan Cinematographic Centre is the main actor in the Moroccan film industry. Most other players are grouped into smaller trade associations

Recording studio